Babe Takes A Bullet
by halie.c
Summary: Stephanie takes a road trip to Texas to apprehend a skip with Ranger. She thinks the distraction is where it will end for her, but things go from bad to worse and the skip manages to one-up RangeMan. Now it is up to Ranger to keep Stephanie out of the skip's hands after threats have been made and promised to be kept. This is my first fanfic and I've not read all of the books yet!
1. Chapter 1

The feeling in my rear had gone away hours ago, and this road trip was dragging on more than I had expected. When Ranger had first asked me to come along for distraction to get a skip I seriously thought it would be a little more than what I was experiencing. So yea, maybe Texas is pretty damn far away, but the road trip novelty hadn't been lost on me.

I knew that flying was out of the question, the kind of _equipment_ that was needed wouldn't exactly get a clean pass through the airport security. But when I heard we were driving all I could think about was getting to have Ranger in a close confined space for hours and maybe making a crack in him enough to leak me some information about himself.

I did feel somewhat guilty, Joe and I had called it quits just last week, and yet here I was, free as could be, allowing myself to be swept off cross country in tow of Ranger. At least I had turned down the passenger seat, but that left me being smack dab in the middle of Lester and Bobby with just a hair's width of personal space.

"You ok Bombshell?" Tank made me come back to reality. He had been the one to take the coveted passenger seat.

"Yea just trying to keep myself from dying of boredom, don't you guys ever play road games?"

That certainly earned me a look from the rearview mirror, I couldn't tell if Ranger was smiling or not but his eyes had gone crinkly around the edges so I took it as a sign he was amused.

"Why don't you take a nap Babe?"

The question didn't even need an answer, Ranger could see that I was a bit cramped.

Another SUV was supposed to have been coming along to transport the others but wouldn't be making its appearance until tomorrow due to some issues about its GPS tracker.

Lucky for me the 24 hour drive it was going to take us to get to this blip-on-the-map town in Texas was being split in half and we would be stopping at a hotel soon. Might as well take the time to look over the file of the FTA that would be trying to cop a feel up my skirt later.

Randy Daniels, early 40's, green eyes, brown hair, average Joe Shmoe. This was the same as I always saw on most FTAs. The part that got me somewhat jumpy was his rap sheet.

The charge he skipped for was drug trafficking to Trenton, with the drugs suspected of originating in Mexico. There were some other charges that were listed he hadn't been convicted of; assaults, DWI, murder….

"Jeez, Ranger. You never told me this guy was nuts!"

Ranger looked at me and gave me a big smile, "You don't trust me and the rest of Rangeman to keep you safe?"

"You could have at least told me the guy was a basket case," I said under my breath. This earned some chuckles from Lester and Bobby who were on each side of me. I knew they had experienced creeps way worse than this, on a more normal basis than I did.

This could be argued though, due to the fact that I seem to attract a stalker with every new start of the month.

I decided to take Ranger up on that nap though, made best as I could in my cramped space, and fell asleep to the sounds of Tank and Ranger mumbling over a game they had caught on TV the night before.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own any of the characters, and I'm not writing for a profit. This is my first fanfic and just wanted to toy around with the plot line. Thanks so much for the reviews so far!**

* * *

I woke with a start to feel the SUV bouncing around and half expected us to be driving down a mountain side with the commotion of it, but come to find out we had reached the hotel and everyone was unloading.

I took a couple seconds to pull myself to full awareness and realized Ranger was nowhere in sight.

"Hey where are we?" I asked Tank.

"Just hit a small town outside of St. Louis. Ranger is out checking the rooms, but he'll be back soon."

I took a look around and everything had been shifted out of the black SUV and we were parked outside of a plain Jane hotel that offered free Wi-Fi and breakfast. I made sure not to complain about any of it, the fact that I was free to be out of the SUV was a heavenly thought.

I got out, stretched my arms to the sky and immediately brought them to my head. My curls were probably an untamed mess, and the thought that everyone was here to witness it was getting to me.

"Hey Babe, here's your room key." Ranger said from behind me, causing me to jump a little at the sound of his voice.

I looked at him and just took him in. 17 hours on the road hadn't even made a dent in his appearance. His hair was perfectly pulled back, his shirt painted onto his torso and biceps, and his black pants didn't even produce a wrinkle.

"Thanks, I'm going to take a shower. Do we have anything to go over tonight that I need to know for the distraction tomorrow?" I tried keeping myself a good arms reach away from him.

"How about I come by your room tonight and fill you in?" Ranger had closed the distance in the blink of an eye and had his hand underneath my chin lifting it towards his face, causing my heart to skip a beat and accelerate all together.

"Um, yea, sure. Sounds good." I looked up into his chocolate eyes and noticed them getting a shade or two darker. _Uh oh Steph, back away now or forever hold your peace._

It seemed like Ranger could feel me tense and took one last look at me up and down. "Are you ok from the long ride?"

"Yea, just a little stiff. Nothing a hot shower won't fix." And with that his eyes went dark again and he planted a kiss on my forehead and walked away.

I flipped the key over in my hand and held it up to the light to catch the room number. Bobby and Lester had already left carrying all the bags to the room. Tank was messing with something in the hatchback.

"Hey Tank? Could you tell me where my room is?"

"Sure, Bombshell. You're right in between us and Ranger. Right up the staircase and to the left. Lester already has your bag in the room."

"Thanks. See you for the meeting tonight?" This earned me a funny look from Tank.

"Uh there is no meeting. We went over everything we needed to back at RangeMan."  
"Oh…I thought Ranger had said we had something to go over…." I let the sentence trail knowing Tank had picked up on it and was probably laughing on the inside.

"Well maybe Ranger has some intel for you alone." Tank looked amused with himself so with that I swatted at his arm and walked off towards my room.

Finding it just like Tank had directed me I went in. No need to turn the light on, Ranger had done sweep checks and everything was bright as could be. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the bathroom setting the shower to as hot as I could stand it.

I knew getting in the shower that I would have nothing more to do than think about my Ranger/Joe dilemma and I might as well get it over with.

It's not that I didn't want Ranger to kiss me right then and there, but I maybe had felt little guilty about the whole Joe break up not having happened just a week before.

_Joe._

I had really tried to keep the relationship going. Joe had taken up a huge chunk of my life. But becoming a housewife and sporting a kid on each hip didn't really calm my nerves about the whole marriage thing. I mean, how was I supposed to take down an FTA with a toddler crying about something I probably would have no idea how to fix?!

Kids were not my forte, and Joe had made it clear that they were in his visions of our future.

The last conversation we had was threatening to come to the front of my mind, and with suds falling down my back from my hair I let it.

"_Cupcake! Your job is driving me crazy! Why can't you just take my marriage proposal seriously?!"_

"_Joe, I'm not meant for the Burg housewife life! You know I can't stand this place, the gossip and all! And you're job is just as crazy as mine!"_

"_I'm not constantly getting shot at and having stalkers decide to become my number one fan! And don't even get me started on all of the gigs you have been taking with Ranger!"_

And with that comment alone everything had escalated to an even higher pitch of voice from me.

"_Ranger has nothing to do with this!"_

"_I see the way he looks at you! And the jobs he puts you on are just as bad as the situations you put yourself in!"_

"_I don't __**put**__ myself into situations! Do you really believe I do this on purpose?"_

"_Cupcake, with you, I never know. I figure you get bored and find a way to make a little more excitement, at the expense of my blood pressure. But the running off with Ranger on night long stake-outs is where I have to draw the line! It's the job or me!"_

And with that I knew we were done, maybe we had never even started. I knew that the only thing that kept us going had been the sex. But even great sex couldn't keep an ill fitted relationship hinged together.

"_I'm leaving Morelli."_

The hurt in his eyes was so easy to see. And I knew that when this got around my mother was never going to let it go.

"_No, Cupcake, I'm sorry. We can make it work. Really, we can. I'll be more understanding of your job, and I'll back off of the marriage proposal for a while."_

"_That's just it Joe, I would need you to back off of it for more than a while. I don't want to end up here just like everyone else. Because the second I say __**I do**__, I know I'll be stuck here until the end of my days."_

This caused Joe to get even more pissed.

"_Yea well just get on with it then! Ask if we can still be friends! Go ahead and ask!"_

"_Joe….I don't want you out of my life completely. We just both want different things from one another and you want more than I can give."  
"Well Steph, that about takes the cake. You may want friendship, but that's something I can't give. Now go run off to Ranger. Seeing as how you're a free woman now, I'm sure this is what you wanted all along!"_

I hadn't even let the comment completely register in my brain before I was out his front door and in my car. The drive to my apartment was a long one, and the thought of Joe insinuating that I had broken up with him only to run to Ranger made my heart hurt on a whole new level. If only Joe knew, Ranger wasn't open for a relationships, and that I had genuinely meant what I told him about friendship and not wanting to be married and tied down to the Burg. So afterwards I did what any sane person would do, I got myself some sugar packed ice cream and went home to Rex, watched Ghostbusters, and fell asleep with the thought of having to face my mother and the rest of the gossip grape-vine the next day.

By the time I had rehashed the whole thing I was wrinkled from the water. I took it as a sign to get out, and wrapped the towel around myself. I looked at my reflection in the foggy mirror and realized how tired I looked.

_Nothing like a good break-up to make a girl look like her worst_.

I tightened the towel around me and let myself out of the bathroom to the cold air of the hotel room. And after I looked up I should have expected what I saw.

Ranger sitting on the queen sized bed, looking great as usual, and analyzing me from head to toe.

"So when were you going to tell me about Morelli, Babe?"_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything! Just doing this for some fun. Thanks everyone for the reviews :) I'm really enjoying writing this and there will definitely be a lot more to come!

* * *

I knew that Ranger had more than likely known about Joe and me. But it was still unsettling, knowing that I had to tell him myself.

"We broke up last week sometime, that is all there is to know about it."

Ranger still eyed me with skepticism.

"Alright then, Babe."

I looked down at the funky colored carpet and knew that he was going to try and get me in bed, and by trying I meant he probably wouldn't even lift a finger and I would go willingly.

It was always like this with Ranger. My body would betray me and I'd find myself wrapped up in his arms with him kissing me senseless, and the next day we'd do a job together like it never happened. And with one word the cycle would reoccur and I'd allow it to.

I think that's why I keep pulling myself back from him. I had realized a long time ago that I felt more with him in the one night we had been together, than I had ever felt with Joe. But Joe had wanted the whole package, Ranger only came wanting a fourth of it. And it was the part I didn't mind too much giving, but the lack of emotion in it was starting to get to me.

I didn't mean that I wanted to weigh his finger down with a promise and a ring, but some form of a commitment, any form really, would be a nice change.

I had told myself that I loved Ranger, I had maybe even lied and said it was a love that came easily and I could brush it off just as easily, but it wasn't. The more time I spent wrapped up in his arms the more I wanted to stay there.

I knew that he loved me too, but it was in his own way. And I knew it would never be _my_ way.

So with that I made sure to start keeping myself at a distance.

"I hear wheels turning up there Babe, wanna talk?" I realized in horror that all of these thoughts had flooded my mind with Ranger barely 3 feet away from me.

"No, I'm ok. Probably should get settled in though, long drive tomorrow and a big night to follow."

Being a distraction wasn't hard, but getting ready for it physically, and mentally, really took some effort.

"Well if you need anything just knock on the door in the bathroom, we share it by the way, and you sure did take a long shower. Hopefully you weren't thinking of me too much."

_We share a bathroom!_I should have known Ranger would want a set up like that. It provided more than one exit route and kept him close enough to get to me in case anything happened.

"I'll be going then." Ranger told me before he stood up from the bed and walked to the bathroom door.

The guy sure knew how to make a bed look lonely. And why wasn't he trying to join me in it, instead of walking away from it?

"You need your space right now Babe, sort everything out up in that pretty head of yours."

The door clicked behind him and I knew he wouldn't be coming back in. I couldn't tell if I were relieved or a bit saddened.

I didn't let my mind wander too much with the possibilities that could have played out had Ranger stayed. I dropped the towel grabbed something to sleep in and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out.

The next day of driving had gone by much faster than the first. Ranger and I actually had the black SUV to ourselves this time around but with him in his zone the ride was in silence the whole way.

It seemed in no time we were at our next hotel setting up. The Merry Men had all heard of me and Morelli, and were starting to come around with jokes, but one look from Ranger had shut them up pretty quick.

"What's the name of the bar we'll be at tonight?" I asked Ranger as we made our way up to the room around the corner.

Instead Lester answered, "Outlaw's Saloon. A connection tagged Randy Daniels here and says he's been coming in every night drinking more than a fish. I guess he isn't taking his drug trafficking charge too hard."

We let ourselves into the room and started setting bags down. Only one room tonight because after we got the skip we'd be dropping him off at the local PD to get a body receipt and heading home. We wouldn't stop again until we reached Missouri for the few hours of sleep we could manage, and then heading out again for Trenton.

"What's with the trafficking charge anyways? Everyone in Trenton usually gets picked up for guns, not drugs." I waited for Lester to reply but he said nothing so I looked expectantly at Ranger.

"He's a drug runner, and since he's lived near the border in Texas his whole life they believe the drugs are coming from Mexico."

"Well why so far up north? Can't he just run them around Texas?" I asked.

"That's what our search was for. RangeMan believes that the new age mob is wanting in on good quality cocaine, and wants it straight from the source. Not home-made in their state. And if they buy from Mexico it is cheaper, and they just pay some low life bottom dollar to run it to them."

Wow, I'd gotten a whole explanation out of Ranger in one sitting.

"You need to know Babe, you'll be running a distraction, and I don't want you in the dark about it."

Running a distraction was never really my favorite thing to do. Acting drunk and letting losers paw all over me made me want to use my stun gun at an unhealthy level. But I liked helping the Merry Men out, and it was a way to kind of even the score with Ranger after all the times he had helped me.

I had been sitting in the room prepping myself mentally for the night when Ranger told me he expected me to wait in the room until he came to get me that night.

"What?! What am I supposed to do for the time being?"

"Relax, Babe. Order a movie, take a nap, anything. Just stay here so I know where you are."

"Where will you be?"

Ranger barely gave me the answer as he walked out the door, "Setting up with the guys."

I had surfed every channel on the TV, ate more donuts than I cared to admit from the box Tank had left for me, and taken an hour and a half nap before I knew I needed to start getting ready.

So with the sun getting lower by the minute I set about fixing my hair and trying to look the part of an easy going (emphasis on the easy) bar hopping woman.

I had my curls tamed and mascara smeared thick onto my eye lashes. Nothing a few extra swipes of mascara couldn't fix when it came to courage. I had on a short black skirt, and a glittery scrap of fabric for the top. My heels were laying by the door and I didn't really want to put them on till absolutely necessary.

I had just rechecked my appearance in the mirror when Ranger let himself into the room. His eyes stuck on me like glue as he told me it was almost time to go.

"You look good enough to eat, Babe."

My heart fluttered and I just smiled at him. He closed the distance between us and once again lifted my chin so that my face was looking up to his.

"I'm sorry about Morelli, Babe. Can't say I didn't see it coming though."

"Yea well I wish I could disagree, Joe and me never were really meant to make it through together I guess."

Ranger didn't even have anything to say about that, but instead pulled me into a deep kiss, that I really didn't want to end. Yet before I knew it, he was pulling away and grabbing something out of the bag on the floor.

"Time to strap the mic on."

His fingers played against my skin and my breathing hitched again. Damn Ranger, and how my body reacted when he was near. I could feel the tape being pushed to my skin and knew that his fingers would soon be off of me. I couldn't help myself when I leaned in closer after he started to pull his hands away. And with that I earned myself another kiss.

Ranger pulled me down onto the bed on top of him and played his hands across my back, this caused me to basically melt on top of him.

I knew he wouldn't allow this to keep going on for much longer, so I took what I could get while I could get it. I smelt his body wash and broke the kiss to trail kisses down his neck.

"Babe, you sure can drive a man crazy."

And with that short sentence I tensed, thinking of how Joe had told me essentially the same thing.

"Joe didn't deserve you Babe. I asked you along to be a distraction because I knew you needed to get away from the gossip of the Burg."

I looked in his eyes and could tell that he wasn't lying. It was odd to see Ranger like this, it looked to me like he actually cared more about me than he wanted to let on.

"I know Ranger, I just feel kind of guilty for-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence because Ranger had rolled me over and pressed me down into the bed with a burning kiss that was screaming for more. My legs wrapped around him and I knew that I didn't feel guilty about Joe, I was just scared to take the risk that was Ranger.

I knew not that long had passed but Ranger was pulling himself away from me before I wanted to let him.

"We got to get going, but don't tell me you ever feel guilty over Morelli. You don't deserve that, and he never deserved you."

My jaw literally dropped but Ranger didn't even give me a chance to get into it because he gave me the five minute cue to get ready and was out the door waiting for me on the other side.

I checked my hair, found it to be completely mussed and did the best I could with only a minute left on the clock. I grabbed my heels, strapped them on, and was out the door.

Ranger didn't say much on the short drive over, back in his zone he barely acknowledged I was in the passenger seat beside him.

We pulled into a dusty parking lot and I could hear the loud music blaring even with the doors closed and windows rolled up.

"Try not to be in there too long. Get in, get his attention, get him to follow you out. Ok, Babe?"

"Alright Ranger, isn't that what I usually do anyways?"

Ranger gave me a huge grin and poked my side, "Yea but you have a knack for finding your way into _situations_."

I got out of the car, after agreeing to get the skip to walk back through the front door so Tank and Lester could nab him there, and made my way to the entrance.

Neon lights were playing on the sidewalk and I had no problem getting in. Guess the less you dress the easier it is to get into bars in Texas.

I immediately saw Randy sitting at the bar, only problem was, the place was packed for being such a small town, and no seats were open even remotely near him!

"Guys, this might take longer than expected, its pretty busy in here, and nothing is available near him." I said towards my chest trying to look inconspicuous as I did so.

I decided to go and lean through a group of people only a seat down from Daniels at the bar to order a drink. I was hoping Daniels would notice me then, and we could go from there.

Sure enough I felt a hand on my backside and turned to see green eyes staring at my chest and a smile on dry cracked lips.

"Hey little darlin'. What's a pretty thing like you doin, orderin your own drinks?"

The Texas accent was so thick it took me a split second to realize that we were far south from New Jersey.

"Well I kept trying to get a seat to find someone to buy me a drink but there was nowhere to sit!" I pouted my lip out hoping to add emphasis.

"Good ole Randy is here to the rescue. Turns out I have a seat reserved for me, only problem is its only one seat, and your seat will have to be my lap." He winked at me and I cringed on the inside.

"Oh yay! I was worried I'd have to stand in these heels all night!"

Daniels sat down and wasted no time pulling me up onto his lap. In the back of my mind I wished I were sitting in Ranger's lap instead.

"So what's your name sweet thang?" _Sweet thang? Really? _What was with men now days?

"Stephanie. What about you?"

"I'm none other than _the_ Randy Daniels." _Oh jeez, THE Randy Daniels? _This guy think he was famous or what?

"Now how 'bouts we order you that drink missy?"

I let him order me a rum and coke, and was trying to figure out how to make it seem like I was drinking without having to commit to the act. The last thing the Merry Men needed was for me to get drunk and screw this up. My track record with alcohol didn't help either.

"Hey it's kind of stuffy in here, and I have this weird thing about small and crowded spaces. You mind walking me out front for a bit to get some air?" I really hoped he'd play along, his hand running up and down my thigh was making me want to puke.

"Sure, come on and I'll take care of ya."

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing this was all over. Except we started walking the wrong way!

"Um why are we going back here?" I asked trying to sound cool, calm, and collected.

"My buddy owns the bar, and told me someone's looking for me, I'd rather not be found, so we're going the back way."

_Shit!_

"So we're going the back way huh? No funny business mister!" I faked a giggle as I aimed the comment towards the mic.

It was then that I caught him looking at me funny. Wasn't he supposed to be drinking more than a fish? He should have been too drunk to notice I was wearing a mic! I didn't think I had made it too obvious!

"I knew something was up with you. Ain't no way some sweet assed woman like you would be sittin on my lap if there ain't no catch."

He grabbed my arm before I could defend myself and was yanking me hard towards the back door. I looked to people around me for help but they were all either too swept up on the dance floor or to drunk to notice.

"Hey let me go!" I yelled at him.

"No way, not till I figure out who you are, and why you followed me here!" He chose then to basically jab me in the chest, and all the air was crushed out of me. I was left trying to gulp in air and being dragged off at the same time.

"Sorry darlin' had to crush that mic you were hiding from me. Don't hide things from Randy anymore."_  
_

_Oh damn! The mic is gone?!_ No more connection with the Lester and Tank, or Ranger. How was I supposed to relay to them what was happening?! _Don't panic Steph! You've got this!_

I knew Ranger was not going to be happy, but I didn't know what else to do, I had forgotten my purse back at the hotel and my gun with everything else was in it. I just had to hope that the Merry Men were able to have enough time to get to the back door before Daniels did.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything. Just writing for fun. Thanks for the follows, faves, and reviews! :)

* * *

My arm felt like it had been yanked out of the socket, and I was still trying to get air to pass into my lungs. Daniels was wasting no time talking to me anymore and was making a straight shot for the back door. Funny thing was, I saw no back door, only three different hallways. He chose the last to the right and yanked me again.

"Hurry up, if you're the one that was after me, then you're not too bright at your job, so I'm sure someone else sent you in first and I don't plan on bein round when they bust the doors down."

I could only give him a death glare and fight to pull my arm from his grasp.

"Now, now missy, I've got a gun in a holster on my hip and I will shoot something pretty off of ya if ya pull against me again."

Getting shot was not on the list of things to do that Ranger had told me. But then again neither was blowing my cover and getting yanked out a back door with a drug runner and possible murderer. So I chose to take the threat of being shot very seriously.

Daniels had finally reached the door and right before opening it pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number. "I'm at the back with someone, pick me up now! They're here and I ain't dealin with this shit right now! Too much riding on these next few runs!"

Somehow air found its way inside of me and I could speak again. "Look, how about you just let me go on my way and I'll be out of your hair. Trust me you don't want the people I'm with after you trying to get me."

He laughed at me and smacked me across my face. I felt the sting spreading across my cheek and up into my temple. A bitter taste of blood rolled from my lips. _This asshole!_ I was just trying to reason with him!

"Stephanie, that's your name isn't it? Don't try and wiggle ya'self out of this one. You're stuck with me, and until I get out of here, ain't no one getting you back. So stop with the talking, or I'll follow through on my promise of shooting you."

Randy Daniels was no longer the man with cracked lips smiling at me, copping a feel every chance he could. Now all I saw was pure evil in his eyes, and I didn't want to go and piss that kind of person off.

I heard a horn honk and Daniels yanked me through the door. I held my breath half expecting Tank and Lester to drop down on him, but no one was there. What could have happened?! I started to shake with worry while I was being tugged along, hoping they'd get here before I was thrown into the vehicle.

It was then that I realized the issue. The whole back of the bar was closed in by huge brick walls. The only entrance and exit was a sliding gate and it was on the complete opposite side of where the Merry Men had originally thought.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

Still it hadn't even been five minutes since this craziness had started, Ranger should be here any second! I just had to make a diversion that wouldn't get me shot in the process. And with Daniels moving me closer to his pickup truck with every moment, I would have to act fast.

I made a gasp and tripped over my heel, hearing Daniels mutter something that sounded like "bitch" under his breath.

"I can't walk! I think I sprained my ankle in my heels."

"Too darn bad, get up. We gotta get going or my guys are gonna have a field day up on those rooftops."

_Wait, what? Guys on rooftops?_

"What do you mean guys on rooftops?" I was still making a big show of holding my ankle and wobbling, trying to slow the pace.

"My insurance coverage sweet thang. You should already know I've got connections up north. They told me to be expecting company, but who would have ever of thunk that it would be something as fine as you. We're going to have fun on my next few runs."

Oh God, he couldn't mean what I think he meant.

Suddenly I couldn't hold it in anymore and started screaming. "Ranger! Tank! Lester! Get me the hell out of here!"

Ranger heard Stephanie yell out for him and his heart skipped a beat.

"Get to her! NOW!"

Lester and Tank couldn't figure out why Steph hadn't come through the front door, but Ranger knew something was up when the mic had gone out. So he had sent Tank and Lester in the front to pull her back.

Except now Lester and Tank were saying there were three doorways leading to the back door and all of them were locked and not budging.

_Shit, Steph, hold on!_

Ranger jumped out of the SUV and made his way around to the back of the bar. Brick walls were not easy to scale, he had to find the entrance gate, knowing if he didn't see it now it would be on the other side.

He made his way to the opposite brick wall and could hear a truck engine and the sounds of someone being dragged and panting.

_Babe!_

Ranger hadn't meant for shit to hit the fan like it was. Randy Daniels was supposed to be a quick in and out. And a way for Stephanie to get away from the rumors flying around the Burg about her and Morelli. What the hell had happened?

He'd finally made it to the gate and was slowly turning the corner when a shot rang out. It took him a second to realize that it wasn't a bullet meant for Stephanie, but for him.

"And who might you be fella?" Daniels had spotted him and was holding his arm up as a means of signaling to hold off on the shooting.

"I'm the one here to recollect what's _mine_."

Ranger allowed himself to turn around and take in his surroundings, knowing he wouldn't be shot at just yet. Daniels had Stephanie pinned to the wall by her throat and had the look of a crazed man in his eyes.

"You ok Babe?" Stephanie looked like she was going to lose it, but was managing to keep it all together.

"I asked ya who you were and you give me some crock answer like you're here for what's yours?" He yanked Stephanie's hair at that moment causing her airways to be blocked further by Daniels' hand.

"That's right. No need to worry about my name, you'll be dead before you learn it. Now put her down and let's talk"

Daniels just laughed in his direction. "In case you didn't notice, wise-ass, I've got some insurance up on these rooftops looking out for my best interest. And this fine thang seems to be my best interest right now." He started running his hand up Stephanie's shirt and Ranger heard a whimper.

He'd had enough, there was no way this game was going on any longer. Who gave a damn if he got shot, he wouldn't put Steph through it. Yet as soon as he went to make a step he heard the faintest voice, shaking with fear.

"No, Ranger, stay there."

"Babe, its going to be ok. Do you trust me?"

Stephanie's only response was silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Down to where a trickle of blood was coming out of her mouth.

_Damn why is she bleeding? That bastard hit her!_

"I don't want you to be shot over me. I'll be ok, really."

"Well how sweet of ya to try and save his neck, even though your neck is in my hands." Daniels sneered. "But I do believe I hear others tryin to get out of the back door I locked. So in my best interest I'll leave you here for now, but don't ya go feelin too safe. I'm gonna come back for ya, and we'll go on those runs together like we spoke about." And with that Daniels shoved his mouth onto _his_ Babe's mouth and took off for the pick-up truck.

Ranger was boiling, waiting like Stephanie had asked so that _insurance_ wouldn't take him out. But as soon as she dropped to the ground he was by her side, shaking her to wake back up from shock of what he'd let her get put through.

I felt warmth around my body, and for some reason I knew it was Ranger. Maybe it's because I smell the bvlgari. Oh it felt so much better to be in his arms than Daniels.

_Daniels!_

I jerked up and my hands went to my throat and I was gasping in air knowing I didn't need to, but wanting to feel the sensation of air freely going through me just the same.

"Babe! It's ok! I've got you! Tank is pulling the SUV around now, and Lester's getting you some water."

I couldn't answer so I just let myself feel safe for the time being in Ranger's arms. He had my head propped up on his shoulder and I was letting myself enjoy what little time Ranger would allow me in his lap before the guys got back.

Much to my surprise when the SUV was pulled around Ranger didn't let me go. Even on the ride to the hotel he held onto me, whispering in my ear that I was alright.

"Babe, we're back at the hotel. Tank and Lester are out getting extra rooms. Can you walk?"

"Umph" My throat still wasn't working how I would have liked it too.

"I'll carry you in."

I went to push him away because I could walk, I was only faking the sprained ankle earlier, but he pulled me tighter to him. So I let him carry me and rested my head on the part of his shoulder where my head fit perfectly. And in this position I fell asleep, exhausted from the events of the horrible night I really didn't want to remember the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

First off thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews! This is my first fanfic and figuring the site has taken me a bit, so I apologize for the craziness in the first few chapters. (I don't own anything I'm just doing it for the play of the plot line) I'm going to start doing Ranger and Stephanie POVs. The italics in each chapter are meant to be the inward thoughts of the POV character for the chapter. I promise I'll get this all more cleaned up as I go!

And special thanks to margaret aka whyme for the great advice! I haven't read all of the books, but I'm working on it! I'm definitely more Babe friendly though. And please be patient with me about how the Merry Men didn't know of the backdoor issue, it will work itself out it due time :)

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Rpov

I was seeing red thinking of everything that had gone wrong tonight. Not only had we been unaware of the back doors, but the blue prints we had on file at RangeMan were obviously outdated. When Lester had secured the layout of the bar from the town's city council they had told us of the brick walls being put up, but that had been the only change made to the place in years.

Not only had the back doors been an issue, but the situation had gone from bad to fucked in no time at all, and now Steph was the one to pay the price for it.

_Babe…._

I stole a look at her on the bed. She had curled into a ball and bruises were forming on her neck.

_I'll fucking get Daniels. He'd be lucky to end up deserted in some third world country._

The thought of her pinned against the wall, and Daniel's hands under her shirt was making my blood boil all over again. I had to stay calm for her though, Steph didn't need to know the turmoil going on inside of my head that was threatening to make its way out.

"Carlos," Stephanie's voice was barely a whisper, and I could hear the pain in it.

It was one of a few times she had called me by my first name, though all the others were in her sleep as well.

I made my way over to the bed and brushed the hair from her face, kissing her ivory skin just near her temple. The bruises on her neck were really setting in, I'd need to call Bobby and have her rechecked and set up with something for the bruising.

They were set up two rooms away from us, sorting out the cluster fuck that was this night. I think Tank knew I needed to stay with her tonight; they were all so worried about their Bomber. But to me she wasn't my Bomber, she was my Babe. And the thought of her going through what she did tonight again tugged at my heart.

I knew the first time I slept with her that things were never going to go back to normal for us. Yet, I had still sent her packing to Morelli, saying I couldn't offer what she needed. I knew she thought she had hid the hurt on her face, but her eyes had given it all away.

In that moment I hated a part of myself. The part that never wanted to fully commit, not because I couldn't, but because I just knew I shouldn't. I was always having to pack up and leave for who knew how long, and with no communication.

Steph deserved more than that. I didn't want Morelli to be the one to give it to her, hell I hadn't wanted anyone to be the one to give it to her, but I knew I had to send her away. She must have taken it harder than I thought she would, because lately she's been distancing herself from me.

Even when I flirt and steal kisses from her, she isn't giving herself one hundred percent.

Except for earlier tonight. She had been on top of me and I didn't feel a tense muscle throughout her body, until I had to open my big mouth about her driving me crazy.

She always drove me crazy. Every shade of crazy a man could imagine, Stephanie could drive me to the ends of it. But I think that is what has always drawn me to her. She was a free spirit, and reminded me of stories my Abuela had always told me as a child.

"La mujer errante era tan libre como un pájaro, pero no pudo encontrar una casa en cualquier lugar, decidió plantar sus pies. Extendió sonríe como un reguero de pólvora. Sin embargo, ella siempre estaba esperando para poner una sonrisa en la cara de su amor."

"_The wandering woman was as free as a bird, but could find a home anywhere she decided to plant her feet. She spread smiles like wildfire. Yet she was forever waiting to put a smile on the face of her love."_

The story had always made me sad as a young child, because the free woman who could soar high like an eagle had never been able to find the one she was meant to be free with.

Stephanie would be my freedom, someday. But I wasn't sure if she could wait for me. Just like the woman in the story, she had a constant need to fly free, and not be tied down. Much like Steph's fear of becoming a housewife in the Burg.

"Ranger?"

I stole a long look at her body, she had changed into one of my t-shirts and some sweat pants. She could be in a homeless get up and she'd still be one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.

"I'm right here Babe."

Her throat was still pretty raspy, but at least she could talk now.

"It's cold."

I knew that the room temperature wasn't what was bothering her and that she probably just wanted someone close by.

"Well make some room and I'll keep you warm."

I pulled my shirt off and dropped my pants so that I wouldn't trail dirt from tonight's ordeal into the bed. And in one fluid movement I had Steph pulled to my shoulder and was stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry that I blew the job tonight."

"What?! Babe! This had nothing to do with you! Don't for one second think that what happened tonight was because of you!"

She just looked up at me and a smirk came across her face. "Good because I blame your placement of the mic. You were probably just wanting to cop a feel more than Daniels did."

There she was, free spirited spunky Babe, back in business.

"Yea Babe, it was my fault, and don't act like you weren't up for the placement either."

This earned me a poke to my side, and I couldn't hold back anymore. I gently pulled her towards my face, careful not to put too much pressure near her neck and kissed her lightly on her lips.

Her tongue played across my bottom lip and I could feel myself moaning.

"I'm ok Ranger, don't treat me like some fine china doll. You never did in the past, and if I recall on one night occasion you really liked that I wasn't fragile."

I didn't even grace her with an answer but deepened the kiss and made her open her mouth to mine. My tongue played against hers harshly, and I knew I couldn't let myself pull away from her tonight. The threat of Daniels had made the thought of losing Steph all too real. She was mine, I had told him that she was mine, but I hadn't yet told Steph. I've never been great with words and emotions, but what I lack in that department I make up for in actions.

"Ranger, please stop teasing me, I can't tell myself no any longer."

"Babe…."

I rolled on top of her to take the dominant position and pushed my hips into hers, and with that she knew that I wanted her. Her legs wrapped around me and she was moaning into my ear.

I had her sweatpants off in a heartbeat, and she was already tugging at her shirt herself.

"Babe, I've got to get something unless you're on something," Steph shook her head that she wasn't and pulled me back to her and kissed me deeply one more time.

"Hurry up Batman, or I'll escape" She smiled up at me and I knew that I was going to take this slow and enjoy the time we had.

This was the calm before the storm, and finding Daniels might as well be a hurricane.

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Sorry for a shorter chapter! Over the next few days I'm going to be working on the next one. Thanks again! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks everyone for the reviews and follows! I'm really enjoying writing this. I haven't written anything in quite a long time, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of it. I'm going to keep the story going through Stephanie's pov and Ranger's pov. I like how it's working out this way. Thanks again!

I don't own anything!

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Spov

I knew waking up that Ranger was still next to me. I mean, the weight of his perfectly toned arm could have been the main giveaway. But I knew that he wouldn't have left me last night. The fear he had actually let shown his eyes when Daniel's was choking me told me so.

Yet the fear was only second to anger, so I was somewhat worried about waking him. I knew I had blown my cover, I shouldn't have made talking to the mic so obvious.

I pulled myself away from Ranger's arms and made my way to the bathroom. All of the events from the previous nights were racing through my mind, and the reflection in the mirror brought it home. Finger shaped bruises splayed across my neck, my lip was somewhat swollen were Daniel's had hit me, and my head was pounding from the roughness he had used when pulling my hair…or maybe that had been from Ranger.

With all of this you would think I'd be really having a meltdown. But the night Ranger and I had shared was making me feel more grounded.

I took care of my business and left the bathroom. Ranger was no longer sleeping, but staring at me from the chair that had been by the window earlier but was now moved by the door. He didn't look happy at all, and I braced myself for whatever he had to say.

"Feeling ok?"

"Yes, I'm alright."

"I've got to go check with my men, start getting packed."  
"But what about Daniels?!" Maybe I shouldn't have said that so loudly, Ranger didn't seem to care though.

"Babe," he said softly "just get your bags packed. I'm taking you home." And with that he left the room.

There was absolutely NO way I was going to let Ranger take me "home". He more than likely had already chosen the safe house he wanted to lock me up in. And the thought of it was making me pace the room and think of ways out of it.

Ok, sure, Daniels had scared the living shit out of me. I didn't want to dwell on the thoughts that had popped in my head when he promised to come for me to take me on his drug runs. But I also wouldn't be able to stand being hidden away without the freedom to go and buy myself donuts when I wanted.

I looked around the hotel room and realized that I hadn't even begun to pack, and I knew I wouldn't. I'd hold out and try my best to reason with Ranger. We couldn't just leave without Daniels! The whole trip would have been a waste. Well, sleeping with Ranger wasn't a waste. But, aside from that, our main reason to come to Texas shouldn't be able to just get away.

_How did he get away?_

The thought played over loudly in my mind. One of the last things I remembered was Ranger running towards me. Why hadn't the Merry Men nabbed Daniels?

I kept trying to figure it out. They hadn't gotten to me when I told them we were going to through the back door. And they always got to me, something wasn't right. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach and decided to sit on the bed and wait for Ranger to come back and fill me in on what had happened.

The waiting only took about ten minutes. Ranger didn't look at all happy with the fact that I wasn't packed and ready to go.

"Babe, I'd like to pretend I'd walked in here and you were packed. But you're not, care to explain?"

I just stared at him. Giving my best blank face, I waited for the next question.

"You're not going to go home easily are you?"

"Ranger, I know that we're not going home, and I don't know where you plan on taking me. But I won't go. And that is all there is to it. We came here to get Daniels and you're letting a small hiccup get in the way."

"A hiccup! Did you not look at the reflection when you got up?! You're bruised all over your neck, and you were choked for longer than I care to think of."  
His eyes were turning darker and darker. I knew I had to reason with him, but his mouth was looking as good as it always does.

"I'm not going to a safe house. I'm fine. I'm still walking and breathing. Now I want answers. What the hell happened last night?"

**Rpov**

I looked at this woman and gritted my teeth. She had told me what I had already knew, she wouldn't be going into a safe house. And after the amount of trust she had given me last night, enough to let me get close to her again, I knew I couldn't break it.

"Babe, the guys are outside waiting. Pack your stuff and we'll talk in the car. I promise I won't force you to go to the safe house." I pulled her to me and kissed her lips lightly, searching her eyes for any sign of rebellion.

She gave me her Burg eye roll and went about grabbing her things and stuffing them in her bag. She looked solid as rock on the outside, but I knew she was scared. I'd tried my best last night to keep her mind otherwise occupied, but as soon as I pulled her close to me to sleep I had sensed her mind going a mile a minute with all the possibilities that could have happened last night with Daniels.

I gave her the five minute cue and walked outside the door to wait. When I had left her this morning I made sure Lester was standing by the door. I didn't want to take any chances with her. Shit had hit the fan and I'd die before Daniels ever took my Babe away from me.

_I'd die?_

The thought had come from nowhere. I knew I loved her, more than I'd let myself love anyone. I'd go to the ends of the earth and move mountains for her if I had to. Yet I had never told Steph, because I knew that at any time I could be called back on a mission and be gone for months at a time.

What kind of life was that to live? Even if Steph was fine with it, I'd hate myself all the more for putting her through that kind of pain. So I kept my love for her to myself and never told her, only giving her excuses like saying the love was "in my own way".

She'd walked out of the door with a minute and a half to spare, and earned a smile from me.

"Breaking your own records now are we Babe?"

She swatted my arm and began to walk towards the SUVs. I took a moment to enjoy her backside and took off behind her, mindfully feeling for my gun in its holster and observing the surroundings for anything suspicious.

"Ranger, I didn't tell you yet, but thank you for staying with me last night."  
She looked worried about saying it, and I could hear her mind screaming for her mouth to shut up.

"No problem Babe."

We walked up and the guys had loaded up and were nervously looking at their Bombshell.

"Hey beautiful, how's the neck?" Lester winked at her and I gave him a death glare.

"I'm fine guys, stop looking at me like I'm going to crumble." She got into the SUV, but not before punching Lester in the arm.

"Follow out, keep your eyes open for anything suspicious, and make sure you're on the correct radio channel." My authority was never lost on my men, and they knew I'd beat them to a pulp on the mat for any insubordination. But they knew I trusted them and did only what was necessary, when necessary.

I got into the SUV and radioed to test the frequency.

"Here boss man." Tank was on the correct channel.

"Well, I'm waiting for some answers."  
Steph never did subtle. Sometimes she'd like to think that she did, but for her I think it was impossible.

"We were set up." I let her have a moment so that it could sink in.

"What? By who? No one was supposed to know anything. I don't understand."

"Babe, it's ok. Take a deep breath."  
She looked visibly shaken.

"You sound shocked, but not all surprised. Care to elaborate?"

"I kept getting a weird feeling in my gut this morning when I tried to think things through."

"Well, we were sold out, by someone in a department that I'm not sure you should hear right now."

"Ranger, stop yanking my leg and just get to the point!"

"One of the guys back at Rangeman went to go double check blue prints. He said they weren't outdated, and contacted the City Council for the town. Sure enough, the owner of the bar had made renovations, but left them out of the updated blue prints. No one went to check to make sure he was being honest."

Steph looked completely lost. I pushed a curl back behind her ear.

"You ok, Babe?"

"Yes, keep going. I need to know what happened."

"We knew that the brick walls were up, but didn't go by to check. We were too busy canvasing the area around his house for any sign of him flying the coop or if there were any extra people we should be aware of."

She stared at me waiting for more.

"We got caught up, double and triple checking everything at his house, and then we were late for setting up at the bar. Lester and Tank couldn't get in, they looked too much like trouble, or so the bouncer said. Then before we knew it I had to come get you for the distraction."

"And no one was able to get in and secure the building, and shit hit the fan." She kind of laughed to herself. I knew it was a nervous laugh, because her eyes didn't light up.

"Turns out that two of the back doors are bogus. We think the bar owner is in on the runs with Daniels, and is a check point after he picks the drugs up from Mexico. The brick walls were put up to load and unload without being seen, and the fake doors were just insurance to throw people off."

"What about the gate being on the wrong side?"

"As infuriated as it makes me to say, that was completely an overlooking on our part."

"And the men on the rooftops that shot at you?"

"Apparently Daniels isn't the complete low life idiot we thought him to be. Rangeman confirmed that he required body guards from the mob before he started doing his runs."

I let all the information sink in for a few minutes. I could almost see the gears turning in her head.

"Why does he want me though? He said he was going to come back for me?"

"Babe, he's fucked in the head if he thinks he's taking you away from me."

She looked at me with an open mouth. I guess I said that a little too vehemently.

"His contract is almost up with the mob. He's got three more runs to do. And they're going to be the biggest hauls."

"Yea he had said something about the final runs being the most important. You still haven't answered me though, about him wanting to take me on the drug runs with him."

I didn't know if I should tell her. But I know she wouldn't be happy with me for keeping her in the dark.

"He likes to take women along for the ride. To keep him entertained."

"So why doesn't he just buy off a prostitute and leave me the hell out of it?"

"He has no intention of spending money on women, he takes them, and disposes of them after the return trip so that they can't rat him out to the police."

"Disposes?" Her hands were starting to shake.

"He beats them, rapes them, and then kills them, dumping them on the side of the road somewhere."

"Holy shit I'm going to be sick."

"Babe, breath." I pushed her head between her knees. She stayed that way for five minutes and finally sat up.

"What about earlier, you said someone sold us out."

"Let's just get to our next check point before we talk about that one Babe."

"Tell me Ranger!" She was looking frantic, needing to know everything I wanted to keep away from her.

"Someone in the Trenton Police Department called and left a tip about us picking up a skip. The mob family is kin to Terri Gilman. I'll let you put the puzzle pieces together."

"PULL OVER!" She had her hand pulled to her mouth and I slammed on the breaks grabbing the door handle and yanking on it. Steph leaned over and hurled until she was dry heaving.

"Joe wouldn't do this, he couldn't. He said he loved me…."

She was shaking and at that moment I knew that I wouldn't have any issues beating the living shit out of Morelli.

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Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll work on the next one tomorrow and be posting in a couple days! Thanks again for the reviews and I hope you are all liking where I'm taking it.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews! This chapter is a bit longer, and i hope you like it! I don't own anything.

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Spov

I finished throwing up and was scared to lean back into the car. I'd thrown up before in front of Ranger, but I could usually blame it on alcohol. I was focusing on some blades of grass, thinking how there was no alcohol to blame this time, when I felt him grab my arm and haul me back inside.

He didn't say a word, just handed me a bottle of water and produced a small travel size of Listerine in the other hand.

I found that he had already put some napkins on the dash and grabbed them to make sure my mouth was wiped clean. Then I went about rinsing my mouth out with water and spitting it back over the side again, before using nearly the whole bottle of Listerine.

"Babe, are you ok to get going again?"

I spit out the rest of the mouth wash and nodded my head, while leaning in and closing the door. I wasn't sure how far away the check point was, and I didn't ask. I couldn't make my mind tell my mouth to form words.

I'm sure Ranger knew because, after he radioed Tank to say we were set to move out, he settled into his zone. So with that I just studied what was going on around me.

The land was really flat, but really green. I wasn't used to all the wild growing flowers I had seen. Buildings weren't pushed together side by side, and I hadn't really seen any building in the last twenty minutes. Cows and horses were scattered all over the place, separated by fences of wire, and I had even seen a few guys riding on the horses. Even the sky was a lot bluer than I had been used to seeing in New Jersey.

Focusing completely on the surroundings was a lot easier than thinking of what Joe might have done, what he hopefully had not done.

I stole a look over at Ranger and saw that he was still in his zone. He had cut his hair short before we had made the drive here, and it hadn't taken me long to warm up to it.

The night we had spent together, I had really enjoyed the way it felt to run my hand through his hair. And the way he had bitten my neck told me he may have liked it as well. These were nice thoughts, easier thoughts than everything I should probably be trying to think through.

"Ranger?" His name barely made it passed my lips.

"Yes?"

"We're not going to a safe house right?" I had been worried when I realized we'd been on the road for the better part of an hour.

"Not exactly."

I must have started to jump out of my seat because Ranger pushed me backwards.

"It is a safe house, but you won't be put on house arrest. It's just a place for us to stay and remain hidden while we set things in motion."

"Ok."

We rode the rest of the way in silence, and in another hour we were parked in front of a dusty looking stone built house. There was a wooden barn a few hundred feet away from the house and a distance off I could see water.

"Where are we?" I looked at Ranger and he was smiling at me.

"It's called a ranch house Babe." He then got out of the SUV and came and opened my door, pulling on my arm to get me up in motion.

"Hey, alright, I'm going!"

Ranger turned me around and leaned it to kiss my forehead. At the last second I looked up so that my mouth met his. There was still all the heat that had been present the night before.

_Or maybe it's the heat from this damn sun._

I never realized how hot, hot was. I'd never move south, for fear of melting every time I stepped outside.

"Babe, let's get you inside." I grabbed my bag and followed behind him. The house looked pretty old and I'd make sure to step exactly where Ranger stepped so that if anyone went through the boards from the porch, it'd be him first.

"How long are we going to stay here?"

Ranger had just walked through the door and whatever he said next I had no idea.

The inside of the house was completely opposite from the outside. Clean was probably the best word to describe it. Everything lacked dust, the couches had not a stain on them in the living room, and the kitchen behind it looked just as spotless.

"You there Steph?" I nodded at him and he went on to answer my unasked questions.

"The outside is just to give a false look, this is a safe house we've used in the past and we have two ranch hands that keep up with it. I phoned them to let them know we were coming, so go in the kitchen and get yourself some food."  
My stomach growled at me and I knew that I'd probably have to settle for some rabbit food.

"There should be some lasagna that just needs heating up, and tasty cakes are in the cupboard."

_Oh my God._

"If I would have had to eat some lettuce and carrots for dinner I might have cried."

The fact that Ranger had made sure that there were tasty cakes and what he had to do to get them here was beyond me. But I wasn't going to waste too much time thinking about it and decided a shower first was the way to go.

I looked around for Ranger but he had disappeared, probably to go catch up with the Tank and Lester, and so I made my way around the rooms. There were five rooms, along with the kitchen, living room, and dining area. Three bathrooms too, a girl could get used to this.

I chose a room with a connecting bathroom that wasn't shared by another room and started the shower. I turned it to as hot as I could stand it and stripped out of my clothes. I had only been in the shower for about ten minutes and shampoo bubbles were sliding down my back when I felt a hand wipe some away.

I screamed but stopped when I heard a deep chuckle. Ranger was smiling darkly at me, and his eyes were just as dark.

"Want some company?"

"Go away Ranger."

"I'm pretty good in the shower."

I shivered through the heat of the water, and knew that I really didn't mean it when I told him to go away. Ranger stopped smiling and pulled his shirt off, I turned around and started second guessing myself. I didn't get to give it much thought because Ranger was running his hands over me in seconds.

We had started to kiss when I felt him wanting me more and more. The events of the past week were crashing down on me and I knew that a Ranger induced orgasm might not fix it completely, but it was a damn good start.

After our activities in the shower I had dried off and Ranger had been out the door. I wasn't too surprised, one time of staying with me through the night had been too much to ask for again. I had dressed in my only extra pair of clean clothes and wondered what I was going to do about getting more.

The distraction job was supposed to have me home to Rex within two days. But now I wasn't sure when I'd be home.

I walked outside on the porch and looked out at the land. I was staring at the water when I felt something behind me. I turned around and a huge tall body of a man that didn't belong to Ranger or the Merry Men crashed into me. I went out to punch him, well half ass punch him, and he caught my fist.

"Howdy little lady, I'm Shane. Ranger wants me to watch over you while he's away."

I couldn't believe it, I thought that no safe house meant no body guards. But yet here I was in a safe house, and here was my body guard.

"I can call him if you like?" Shane knew I was questioning him being there and pulled out a cell phone and got Ranger on the line before handing me the phone.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself! Why is this man saying he's going to watch over me?"

"I need someone there that can keep a watch on you while I'm gone."

"I'm going to assume you're gone for only a while, because you said that I wasn't on house arrest."

"Yes, Babe. Only be out for a while. Checking on things around town. See you in a bit."

And with that the conversation was over. I was left standing and somewhat fuming for Ranger leaving me out of things.

"So you wanna go check out the pond?" Shane had seen me staring at it earlier.

"Sure lets go," I reached around to grab my phone out of my bag and through the bag back through the door. I was pissed and that was the best time to make a phone call I was dreading.

We reached the pond and I was wondering why it wasn't called a lake. It was huge, and the pier went a third of the way out.

Shane had been walking beside me and I looked at him. He was wearing worn blue jeans and a faded flannel shirt. His brown boots looked like they'd seen better days.

"Are you one of the ranch hands that keeps up with the house?"

He laughed and said yes.

"I was originally an employee of RangeMan and worked out here when we had someone in a safe house. But I was born and raised in Texas and missed it when I had to spend time away. So when I was made an offer to keep things going out here and guard the occasional body when necessary I took it."

"That's nice." We were reaching the pier and I was preparing myself to dial the number I knew all too well.

"Say, Shane? Would you mind waiting right here for me? I'm going to go to the end of the pier and just sit for a while." I could tell he wasn't too comfortable with it, but in the end he let me walk off.

I reached the end of the pier and leaned over carefully to look at the drop into the water. I had learned to swim at the YMCA back home when I was young, but a bad memory of slipping and hitting my head before falling into the pool had kept me from swimming recreationally.

The drop wasn't too far so I took off my shoes and sat down, putting my feet into the water. It felt great, and the heat outside wasn't as bad anymore.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and finally allowed myself to turn it on. The dinging of voicemails and texts was instantaneous. I knew that people were still gossiping about me and Joe. It was why driving across the U.S had been a choice that had come easily.

My fingers dialed Joe's number quickly, and before I was ready it had begun to ring.

"Cupcake?!" His voice sounded husky, not like he normally sounded.

"Hi Joe."  
"Where are you? Why haven't you come home yet?"

"I decided on a vacation, maybe you could guess why."

He said nothing and I had begun to notice his speech had been slurred.

"Tell me something Joe, how would a man, thousands of miles away, know that he was going to be picked up by RangeMan?"

"Steph, Cupcake, I'm so sorry! I just did it to fuck everything up for Ranger, I didn't want you to spend any more time with him than you already were."

I really think I could hear my sanity slipping away.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU JOE!"

"Nothing is wrong with me! You left, you did it!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Tell me something else Joe, how did you nark us out? I heard from a little bird that the family involved is tied in with Teri. Did you call her to tell her? Any explanations there?"

"Cupcake, I haven't called to tell Teri anything at all. I haven't even seen her!" His voice had caught at the end and I knew I hadn't believed him.

"You're a pig Joe, I don't believe you. And now, because of you, I have another crazy psycho after me! And if he gets his hands on me again I'm going to strangle you!"

"Again? Cupcake?! What happened?! I didn't mean for anything to happen to you! Only Ranger! Just come home to me and I'll make it better."  
"Sex isn't going to cut it Morelli, I said we were done before and I'll say it again. I am never going back to you."

I hung up before he could get another word in and threw my phone out across the water.

_What an asshole!_

I tried to cry, but I guess it wasn't the huge heart break that I thought it was going to be.

_Because Joe never really had your heart._

The thought of Ranger and me in the shower earlier rushed back to my mind. The only problem was, Ranger may have my heart, but I didn't have his. And if I did, it would be on his terms only.

"Looks like you'll be needing a new phone hun."

Shane had walked out and met me at the edge of the pier.

"Yea it was malfunctioning."  
"Must have been quite a glitch."

"You have no idea."

"Say, you wanna go see the rest of the ranch? It'll keep your mind busy and off the fact that you no longer have a phone, and that the replacement fees through some phone insurances are a real bitch nowadays."

I groaned realizing that I had barely gotten the phone so trying to play off that it had broken from over use would be hard, and the fact that I no longer had a phone to mail back in would be even worse.

"Yea show me the ropes of working a ranch."  
He smiled at me and it looked somewhat similar to the way Ranger looked at me.

_Uh oh_.

Best to keep it to casual talk from now on.

I really tried to keep it that way but Shane was a lot of fun. And he felt like an older brother that I never had. He let me jump off the hay bales and made sure I got out without getting hurt. We fed some horses and he was genuinely shocked when I said it was the first time I'd been up close to a horse.

This had prompted him to take one out, saddle it up, and lead it out to the corral.

"Come on half pint, just walk out here and I'll load you on up."

"NO!"

Horses were pretty, but they were huge and scary. Yet he was taunting me and I wouldn't tolerate that.

I slowly walked into the enclosed area and watched the beast of a horse. The horse was watching me too, and started to get as nervous as I did.

"Twister knows your nervous, calm yourself down a bit."  
"What kind of name is Twister?" I was really wanting to turn around and run out.

"On account of he would twist and turn like a twister before he was tamed. You'll be fine though, toddlers ride him at the rehabilitation center in town."  
_Ok, Toddlers are more courageous than I am? _

And with that thought I took a deep breath and started walking slowly towards Twister. When I got there Shane took my hand and helped me to slowly get lifted into the saddle. Twister stood completely still but as soon as Shane trotted off to the gate, Twister lost it. He bucked once and I was holding on for dear life. Two more bucks and the reins flew out of my hands. Another buck and I was sent flying. I crashed to the ground and felt pain spread up my back.

I had kept my eyes tightly shut through it all and didn't want to open them. But the fear of the beast named Twister coming back and trampling won out. I opened my eyes and saw Shane trying to calm the horse and grab the reins. He tied him off on a rail and ran towards me.

The pain had spread to my head and for some reason the ground kept tilting back and forth.

"You ok half pint?" He had put his arm under me and had begun lifting me up.

"My back…"  
"Yea you landed on it something nasty, but you held on for quite a while. You should look into a career in the rodeo!"

I knew he was trying to make me laugh, but the pain I was feeling wasn't permitting it. Shane felt my back and checked my neck, looked in my eyes twice, then rubbed my head.

"Ouch!"

"You'll be ok hun. No concussion, no broken bones. You'll probably be feeling something like a stiff board tomorrow though. And it kind of pains me to say, but toddlers don't ride Twister. You're the second person to try since I broke him. I just never have any company out here to test out with the horses. Wanna try again tomorrow?"

I went back to being beyond pissed. Shane was crazy if he thought I was getting back on the damn horse. The horse neighed at me when I walked through the gate and I growled back at him. Shane laughed and picked me up to carry me the rest of the way to the ranch house, probably on account of my limping.

The sun had already set and Ranger still wasn't back. Tank and Lester had rode out with him, I assumed, because no one was in sight in the house except Shane who walked in behind her.

"I think I'm going to shower and go to sleep now."

"Let me get you something for your back and I'll leave you to it."  
Shane went to a cabinet and pulled out a pill bottle, handing two to me.

"Take these with some water before you go to sleep."

Just then Tank walked through the door and waved Shane out saying Ranger needed a word with him.

"Hey Bomber. Quite a fall you had out there. You alright?"

"Oh God, did you see me fall off the horse?"  
"We all did, Lester got a laugh out of it, Ranger's pretty pissed though."  
"Ranger's back?!" My spirits lifted considerably.

"Yea, but I wouldn't hold your breath, him and Shane will be kind of tied up for a while."

"What do you mean?" Tank had a weird look on his face.

"I don't think he liked the way Shane was carrying you, or the fact that he let you on the wild horse."

I nodded my okay and went to the bedroom I'd be staying in. Why did Ranger care if Shane carried me inside? I stopped thinking too much of it and went to the bathroom. The shower I had wasn't as nice as the first one I'd shared with Ranger, but I was cleaned up and my back wasn't aching as terribly. When my head hit the pillow my last thoughts were of Ranger, and if he was going to be mad at me too.

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Well hope it was a fun read! Oh, and don't read too much into the Shane and Stephanie interactions. Stephanie is definitely all for Ranger. Thank you for any reviews again! You guys are really keeping me motivated! :)


	8. Chapter 8

I was going to wait another day or so to write the next chapter, but I was really antsy to get to this chapter done! I hope you all like it. I don't own anything.

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Rpov

I watched her fall from the mustang and unconsciously held my breath until Shane had reigned the horse in. Then it took everything in me not to run to her right then and there. She was a grown woman and, as much as I'd liked to, didn't need me running up and hovering over her to kiss scraped knees.

I knew she was fine, she had fallen at a good angle, but it still had me a bit worried. And then to see her being carried off by Shane added more to the insult that he had let her on the damn horse to begin with.

"You don't look too happy boss man. It's not so nice to see someone making away with your woman huh?" Lester tried joking around it but he knew he'd get retaliation from me later for the comment.

"I'm not happy with Shane for letting her on the mustang." I was hoping my tone wasn't betraying my true emotion on the matter.

"Looks to me like she's fine. She's got a cowboy to carry her away and clean up her wounds." Lester really was pushing it.

"Lester, knock it off." Tank was glaring at him and it was no worse of a glare than the death one that I was giving him.

"I'm going out to the barn. Send Shane my way when you get inside." Tank nodded as he and Lester exited the SUV. I got out and made my way towards the barn, taking my shirt off when I got inside. I knew we were going to be at this for a while. The temperature and pressure of my blood was high, and beating Shane down to the ground until he understood never to put her in that situation again would be my self-medication.

"Mr. Manaso," Shane stood at attention awaiting my reprimand.

"I'm going to tell you this once, and once only. Stephanie is NOT to get back on the wild horse. You will not make any advancements towards her, and you will not put your hands on her again unless it is for the sole purpose of protecting her body."

"Sir, yes sir." He looked a little shocked, and so be it. He would learn within the hour that she was my Babe. I'd waited long enough for her to be through with Morelli, and now that she was, I was going to make sure she knew how badly I'd wanted her during that wait.

"Now get in position and set your stance. Starting in fifteen seconds you will be reviewed on your hand to hand combat for the next 60 minutes."

The hour passed by quicker than I would have liked. He'd managed to land one quick blow to my side, but only because I had wanted to land a harder one to his jaw. After we were finished I'd felt more calm.

"Sir? Could I say something?" He looked a bit sheepish for being such a big man.

"Go ahead."

"I didn't realize that she was spoken for. And the horse was just to keep her mind off of her phone issues."

I had no idea what he had been speaking about.

"Phone issues?"

"She said she had a glitch, but she had been talking to a man named Joe before she gave him a piece of her mind and hurled it into the pond. I could retrieve it if you like?"

I had to smile. That must mean that Steph had really written Morelli off for good.

"No, its fine. I'll talk to her about the phone."

"Alright, I'll make sure she doesn't ride Twister anymore. Am I excused?"

"Yes."

He had begun to leave and was stretching a sore spot out of his arm when I had the image of Stephanie in those arms.

"One last thing Shane. She is spoken for, she's mine and you'd better take heed when I say back off."  
He nodded his head and was out of the barn. I'd decided to finish up a workout and was gleaming with sweat by the end of it. By the time I walked into the house it was well pass dark, and Tank was sitting on the sofa hanging up the phone.

"Lula called to check up on me. Won't happen again boss."

"It's fine Tank. Just make sure to limit the calls to whenever we're off for the night and retired inside."

"Yes sir. Bomber went to sleep about an hour ago. She looked somewhat roughed up from the fall she'd had earlier, and was anxious to see you. I told her to wait for you in here."  
Tank had done well to keep Steph inside. "Thanks Tank. Get some rest you're on surveillance in a few hours for the night shift."

"Ok, Ranger. Steph's asleep in the room. Lester is out checking the area for anything. Did you need anything else?"  
I shook my head at him and walked towards the bedroom at the end of the hallway. I could hear Steph mumbling in her sleep. I knew that if she were doing that then it meant she really was knocked out. The door didn't make a sound when I opened and closed it behind me.

The bed was a mess of sheets and pillows, and I guess that meant she wasn't sleeping well. Her mumbling was starting to sound more like whimpering and I put my hand to her face. Steph's skin was always so soft, and when she was asleep she didn't look like she was ready to take on the world. When she was asleep it didn't look like she was the trouble magnet that I knew her so well to be.

Her whimpering was getting worse and I decided it was time to wake her up. I shook her gently and leaned over to say her name. When she didn't respond I slid into bed beside her and pulled her into my chest.

"Babe, wake up."

She finally stirred out of her sleep and started to panic, pushing against my chest and kicking, realizing that she wasn't by herself.

"Babe, calm down."

"Ranger?"

I pulled her away from me and looked in her eyes, she looked frantic, like a deer caught in the beam of headlights.

"Bad dream?"

"I thought you were..."

I kissed her and played my tongue across her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to mine and I deepened the kiss. By the time I broke the kiss we were both breathless and I knew that I wanted her badly.

"I really hope you don't think that anyone else can kiss you like I do." She smiled at me.

"Now let me see your back Babe."

She rolled over and I gently pulled her shirt up her back. A bruise had formed but it didn't look too bad, so I was no longer worried about anything being seriously injured.

"I don't want you getting on that horse again."

"Ranger, I'll do what I want to do. And if you think you can make demands then how about I make one of my own?"

I smiled at her, amused with her attitude, when only moments ago she had been so willing towards me.

"And what would that be Babe?"

"Don't ever think about leaving me again. You said I wasn't going to be locked away in a safe house and yet that's what it felt like today. I need to be included."

I knew she would be pissed when I'd gotten home. So I wasn't at all surprised with what she was saying.

"Alright. No more leaving you out. Am I still in trouble?" I stared at her mouth wanting to kiss her again.

"I guess not. But you better stay out of trouble by keeping me in on everything or else."

"I think I'd like to take you up on that or else." The need of wanting her was getting worse with each moment.

"Ranger, don't distract me. I mean it." I knew she meant it, and I knew I would give her whatever she wanted from then on.

"Alright Babe."

"Now tell me what I missed today."

I went on to tell her about how the guys and I went around town searching the area for Daniels. I filled her in on the spots where he has been seen in the past, and the old barn where he hides out when he's in between runs. He wasn't there but we'd be keeping tabs on the area. She wanted to know how long we'd be here, and I told her maybe a week. I told her I had already had Rex picked up after the incident at the bar and someone was taking good care of him.

"So how about now you tell me what I missed Babe."  
She looked at me puzzled.

"With Morelli."

"Nothing to tell Ranger, we're through. I'm tired of his shit, and when he admitted to me today that he was the one who sold us out I didn't really feel a thing towards him."

"He'll get what's coming to him Babe."  
"You know what Ranger, usually I'd tell you not to interfere. But I don't think I really care anymore." She looked like she meant it.

"And I think the only one who really does care is my mother, only because I'll never be Mrs. Morelli."  
"Never sounds good to me." Her eyes got big and I wanted to be inside of her, claim her for myself.

"I think I'll take you up on that distraction now Ranger."

Spov

Ranger induced orgasms were the best orgasms. I never knew that sex could be so great. And I think the reason it was so great with Ranger was because he paid so close attention to my body and my needs. With Joe it was mainly about him getting off, and worrying about me after the fact.

Ranger was sleeping next to me, and his arm was draped over my stomach. I knew it was late, and I should be asleep as well but I was forcing myself to stay awake to enjoy Ranger for as long as he was staying. I don't remember when I had finally fallen asleep but when I woke up the sun was peeking through the window.

Ranger was still next to me, and my stomach fluttered filled with butterflies. Why hadn't he left?

"I wanted to stay with you Babe."

"Don't you have things to do?"  
He put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to his then kissed me softly.

"I've been waiting for you to finally leave Morelli for good, and now that you have, I'm not ever going to make the mistake of pushing you back to him again."

I stopped breathing, I think the apocalypse was on the horizon, maybe the sky was even falling. Did Ranger just say he made a mistake by making me go to Joe?

"Do you feel ok Ranger?"

"Babe, I'm fine."  
"So what does this mean then?"

I knew he wasn't comfortable with the question, but I had to ask it. It wasn't fair that he was giving me mixed signals and had been for a while.

"It means exactly what I said. I'm not going to push you back to Morelli."

My heart sunk because I knew that, once again, he was going to have things on his own terms.

"Alright Ranger. Could you go now then? I need to take a shower."  
"Babe, I'm sorry. I can't be what you're expecting. But I do want to be something."

"Forget it, I'm not doing that to myself. So why don't you do yourself the favor and just write me off for good." My anger was through the roof. Why had I even let myself believe that Ranger would want to be with me the way that I had secretly always wanted?

Ranger had moved out of the bed and had his blank face set. No emotion was showing, and it was because of this that I knew I had struck a nerve.

"There is no writing you off Stephanie. I'll give you space for now, but I'll be back, and I'll make sure you won't be pushing me away."

Damn him, he knew that I was still warm with wanting him. But I wouldn't allow myself to do it. The joy of him admitting to his mistake was crushed by the sadness that he was still wanting me in his own way.

And so I made sure to avoid Ranger, it wasn't as hard as I expected, because I suspect that Ranger knew I didn't want to see him. The possible one week at the ranch house had soon turned into two weeks and I was getting home sick for Rex.

The only times I had really interacted with Ranger was when he had taken me out with him on day trips to town looking for any sign of Daniels. He'd told me that he heard that Daniels was laying low planning something and we should be close to catching him, but no one had seen him since a few days after the bar incident. He hadn't called me Babe during any of it. It was starting to eat away at me.

Maybe I had messed things up. I shouldn't have been so rough on him when he had finally opened up to me about something. At the same time, I wasn't at a point in my life where I could keep putting up with insecurities in a relationship anymore. I didn't mean that I needed to get married right off the bat, but I really didn't want to waste any more time on something pointless like I had done with Joe.

Hell, even Shane had been making it a point to hardly talk to me. I had actually relaxed when I had spent that first day with him, and now he couldn't even look me in the eye? I was starting to really get depressed.

"Hey beautiful." Lester made me jump. I'd been sitting on a porch swing thinking when he snuck up behind me.

"Hi Lester."

"Why are you sitting out here all alone? Need me to keep you company?"  
I really didn't feel like dealing with Lester's jokes, but I'd been lonely and Shane wasn't as much fun anymore.

"Sure, take a seat."

We talked about the ranch house, and he made fun of how I had fallen off of Twister.

"Laugh all you want, at least I tried. You haven't."  
"That's because I know that damn horse is crazy." Lester was poking my side laughing.

"Poke me again and see what happens." I had started to lighten up and was giggling when I felt him jab me in the side again. So I went to stand up and try to land a punch on him but he grabbed my arm and flipped me onto his lap. He'd begun to tickle me and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Lester, isn't it time for you to go out on watch."  
I felt Lester straighten up against my back at the sound of Ranger's voice.

"Yes boss man, on my way. Just trying to get Bomber here to lighten up. She's hardly laughed in the past two and a half weeks."  
Ranger was standing next to the steps looking lethal. He was in all black and hadn't shaved in a few days. His eyes were staring at me darkly and I knew that what he'd seen had struck a nerve.

"Bye Lester, see you around." I made it a point to have a firm voice, so that Ranger knew he hadn't had an effect on me.

"So I've got word that Daniels is to make his way here in a few days. Just thought you should know."  
"Thanks Ranger."

I went to stand up and walk to the barn where Twister was, but Ranger called my name out.

"Stephanie…try and stay out of Lester's lap from now on."  
"We were just having a laugh Ranger."  
"Well I wasn't laughing." And with that he was gone, walking around the back of the house, probably to go and check on the area.

I watched him go before I headed over to the barn. I hadn't been back on Twister since he'd bucked me off, but I did like to go out and pet him through the stall gates when he allowed it.

"Hey there little lady." Shane walked in and was watching me pet Twister.

"Hi Shane, is it Tuesday?" He looked at my confused.

"You barely talk to me anymore, maybe once a week now. Tuesday sounds like a conversation day of the week."

He laughed and came up to me and patted me on the head like I was a pet.

"Just don't wanna get in no more trouble hun."

Now it was my turn to look confused, but then realization dawned on me. Ranger had Shane sent out to him after I'd been thrown off of Twister.

"Shane, you won't get in trouble, there is nothing to get in trouble for. I thought we could have been friends. You've been watching over me nearly every day for almost three weeks now."  
"I'm sorry. I'll start bein more talkative, promise." And he shined me a big smile.

"Good deal. It's been boring without having someone fun to talk to."

He gave me another big smile and asked if I wanted some sweet tea.  
I nodded my head and went back to petting Twister, Shane going to the shed next to the barn that held an old refrigerator. I had asked him why he had it set up in there and he'd told me it was faster to grab a drink from there during work than walking inside the house.

I felt a lot better about Shane, knowing that he wasn't avoiding me for something I had done. I had felt fine but all of a sudden my stomach churned and I ran out to the opposite side of the barn.

I doubled over and threw up my breakfast from earlier.

_What the hell?_

I hadn't eaten anything bad, it shouldn't be a cold. Could you even get a cold in this damn heat? I guess it was just a stomach bug that was upsetting my stomach. I had thrown up when Ranger had told me about Joe, but that had honestly been my anxiety and the shock. So this had to be a virus or something.

The sudden feeling of my hair being yanked made the scream catch in my throat. I had just been leaning over a rail but now I was flat against the ground being drug by my arm.

_Dear God, please don't let me have fallen in my own puke_.

I was hoisted up in the air and had begun kicking and was about to scream, only to have a hand slam over my nose and mouth. My airways were blocked and I had begun to panic, not able to breathe. I bit the hand and heard a man cursing. The last thing I remember was looking into blue eyes before the lights went out and everything had gone dark.

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Well I really hope you liked it! I really wanted to do the playback through Ranger's pov when Stephanie fell from the horse. Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. Chapter 9

So I'll be going on vacation for a few days starting Friday and I really want to get more into the story line before then. I hope you're all enjoying how it's going. I don't own anything. And thank you for the reviews! :)

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Spov

The pain I felt made me think that my head had split in half. I couldn't even open my eyes without the fear of them falling out of the socket. What the fuck had happened.

_Blue eyes._ _Getting hit on the head. Darkness. SHIT!_

I tried to jump up and make a full on run for it, knowing that it was probably impossible. But there's always the advantage of surprise right? Except trying to jump up didn't happen. I was bound down onto something. I carefully opened my eyes and saw that I was bouncing around in what looked like the back of a van. The windows had been blacked out and there was no way of being able to see where we were.

The sounds of a radio were barely reaching the back of the van.

I tried reaching up to bang on the metal separating me from whoever was in the front, but my arms were tied down, along with my body, on a flat board structure that was bolted down to the floor of the van. And the bindings weren't exactly loose enough for me to wiggle through.

"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE WITH ME?!" I figured yelling would get me some attention so that I could figure out what the hell was going on.

Sure enough, the brakes were stepped on and the stray items in the back with me flew to the front. I heard the driver side door open and then shut. Footsteps crunched on gravel then the back door swung open.

I was staring at a huge man, and when I say huge, I mean giant. He looked like he had given himself steroid injections since birth.

"Shut up back here. Boss wants to see you and says I can't touch you. Don't make me hurt you." As he said the last part his eyes lit up.

_Holy Hell._

"Who are you?" My voice was shaking but I refused to let myself cry. This guy's brain must have fried after all the stuff he must have been juicing himself on.

"Ted."

"Hi, Ted. I'm Stephanie. Is there any chance you can untie me so that I can go to the bathroom?"

His eyes flared and he started to yell, "NO! I SAID SHUT UP!"

And with that the doors were slammed shut and I was stuck in the darkness alone again.

Surely though, Shane would have realized I was missing when he returned to the barn with my sweet tea and I wasn't there. And he would have told Ranger.

_Ranger!_

Oh God, please let Ranger get to me. And fast.

Rpov

I knew that I fucked up when I'd told Steph I was only interested in not sending her back to Morelli. I had wanted to say more, but why make a promise I couldn't keep. Getting called away was what my life was right now.

The following weeks had been hell. She was pulling away from me and I was letting her. But I'd take her back again here soon. I couldn't keep myself away from her much longer.

She had told me to write her off. The thought of it made me pissed off all over again. Who does she think she is? I know for a fact she isn't just some random woman I can walk the opposite direction from. I guess I should have told Steph that though.

We'd been in Texas for nearly a month now, trying to pick up Daniels. But every time we'd come even remotely close to figuring out his location, he had been one step ahead of us. The bastard had been one upping us ever since he'd put his hands on my Babe.

And the month we'd been here hadn't passed easily. Tank was wanting to be home with Lula. Lester was getting restless with the small town, and was starting to resort to using Stephanie for entertainment. Steph missed Rex, and her mother was probably drinking herself into stupors every night now that she couldn't get a hold of her daughter anymore. Stephanie's phone was at the bottom of the pond, and I hadn't been able to get her a new one yet. I could have if I really wanted to. But why give her something that is a link to all the hateful gossip that's going on back at her home?

She'd been borrowing my phone when she had wanted to call Mary Lou, or Grandma Mazur. And when she'd called her grandmother she'd hang up within the minute, because her mother would be yanking the phone to talk to her.

Steph hadn't spoken a word about Morelli after our night together. I was glad. He was a worthless piece of shit, and I'd made sure not one man had laid a hand on him while we'd been gone, because I wanted to deal with him personally when we returned.

I'd just stormed off of the porch after seeing Stephanie in Lester's lap giggling like a school girl. I was going to kick Lester's ass for that one. And I'm sure he'd back off for the next few days, but would be at it again shortly.

I had just started to reach the edge of the fence where I wanted to reconnect the motion sensors for the evening when I heard shouting. It sounded like Tank was home from scouting the town, trying to pick up informants on Daniels.

"Ranger! Shane's down!"

_What the fuck?!_

I took off running towards the barn where Shane was supposed to have been keeping an eye on Steph. He was nowhere to be seen, and neither was she.

_Keep calm, breath. My Babe is fine, she's probably out by the pond_.

I turned to look at the pond and no one was anywhere near it, not even on the pier. Tank was finally catching up to me and his face looked worried.

"Report to me NOW."

"I came back from town and went to check on Bomber, she's been pretty upset lately. I didn't see her at the pond so I came to look in the barn, then not seeing her here I went to check the area, the shed being closest. Shane was knocked out on the ground. Lester has already carried him inside but says he should be alright. Apparently Shane was getting Bombshell something to drink and was attacked from behind. She's nowhere to be found."

My heart rate had spiked through the roof. Who the fuck had found out we were here?

"Get Lester, search the area for footprints and tire tracks. If there are tire tracks send them off to Rangeman and see what they can come up with."

Tank took off to follow orders and I set about searching the barn. Stephanie had been spending a lot of time out here with Twister. She had never gotten back on him after he'd bucked her off, but still liked spending time petting him.

The stalls were empty, aside from the horses. Nothing was showing me any sign of a struggle. I was just about to leave to check the shed when I saw something on the ground.

_Vomit_.

What had caused her to throw up?

I looked all around the area, and sure enough, there were marks all over the ground of someone being drug. As soon as I catch this son of a bitch, I'd make sure he'd regret his decision to take her. I followed the marks farther and when they stopped the foot prints started showing up clearer. Four steps later he had been distracted.

Knowing my Babe she had put up a fight. And that's what scared me. This was the work of Daniels, and he was a real fuck up. He didn't like his women to fight back, and if they did he punished them for it. I knew Daniels hadn't been the one to take her, it wasn't in his psychological profile anymore.

Ever since the drug runs for the mob he had put himself on a higher level. He sent his insurance men out to do his dirty work. So this thought was what I was clinging to. That maybe the man that took her hadn't hurt her too badly when she fought back.

Spov

The van had been hitting all the bumps in the road it seemed like, but at least it only lasted another twenty minutes. I felt the brakes being hit and gravity trying to pull me towards the motion, but the rope was holding me in place.

My mouth still had a nasty taste in it from the puke, and I was praying that someone somewhere would just bippity boppity boop some Listerine into my pocket that I could get when I was unbound.

Just then the doors flew open and Ted was staring at me with his creepy blue eyes again.

"We're here. Boss wants to see you now. I'll untie you, but if you wants to keep all fingers not broken you better not try to run."

I swallowed and tried to keep my cool. The guy really could use some grammar classes though, but then again, he had probably juiced all his brain cells to death.

He reached down and started to unbind me, and every muscle in my body was screaming to chance it and run. But my mind knew I wasn't going to get far, running wasn't exactly my thing.

I thought he was going to put me down but instead he took some more rope and tied my hands together and then my ankles together. Well, there went running. My short lived hopes of freedom were crushed.

He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and even though the blood was rushing to my head I looked around to see where we were at. This was hard though, due to the fact that the sun had already been setting on the way here, and now it was dark, except for the light of the moon.

"Where are we Ted?"

He grunted at me and I took that as a sign that he wasn't going to give me an answer.

"Who wants to see me then?"

Another grunt.

"Jeez, don't gush everything out at once."

And with this I earned a hard slap on my ass.

"Hey asshole! Watch it!"

He laughed at himself and kept walking with me bobbing up and down with each step. He'd been walking for about two minutes when I heard a chuckle.

Fear gripped my stomach and I stopped breathing. I'd heard the same laugh when my hair had been pulled back and my throat was being choked.

Ted put me down and stood me up, making sure I could stand before letting me go. I was looking right into the eyes of Randy Daniels. He looked excited to see me, and I'm sure I looked the exact opposite.

"Well hello there little lady. Miss me while I was away?"

And with that I fell back into darkness, and this time not because of a knock on the head.

When I came to again it was because I felt a huge sting on my cheek. I was laying on a cot and my hands and feet were still tied. The sting was due to Daniels smacking the shit out of me.

"Wake up darling. We've got so much to talk about."

All the fear I had felt before passing out was crashing back into my mind. How did he find us? I thought Ranger said no one would know where we were going to be?

"What do you want with me?" I had tried really hard, but my voice was still shaking with fear.

"Well I told you that we were going to be spending some time together. And I thought how much fun it would be for us to go on some road trips. Don't ya think?"

"No, take me back now to where you sent that ogre of a man to get me!"

Daniels just laughed in my face and smacked me again.

"Don't ever think that you can shout orders at me little missy. Don't you wanna know how we found you to begin with?"

He was waiting for me to say something but I was seeing stars from being hit so hard.

"Well funny story actually. This is a small knit community, and they don't take too kind to newcomers. So your friend Shane had been out and about trying to establish himself here, and when he went to the bars women were always wanting to go home with him. Funny thing about women, throw a good lookin man at them and they turn into a bunch of whores. Well anyways darling, back to my story. So Shane never wanted to take any women home with him, and one lady couldn't help herself and managed to follow him back to his house, you know, to throw herself at him like the slut that she is and hope for the best. Well he still turned her down and she was so embarrassed that she didn't say a word to anyone. This has been some time ago mind you, much before you went to stay there. Well I found the lady and wouldn't you know it? She sang like a bird and told me all about the place. She even had said the house was completely sparkling on the inside but a wreck on the outside. Don't you know that sounded fishy to me? So I sent good ole Ted out to check things out and luck be had there you were!"

He was so damn proud of himself.

"What happened to the girl?" He never said where she was now.

"Well I didn't much need her anymore, so I got rid of her. You worried I'd cheat you out of my sole attention?"

_Oh God. This man is fucked in the head._

"Ted had to take care of your friend Shane too."

_SHANE!_

I pushed myself forward and ran my shoulder into Daniels chest, taking him by surprise. He had the air knocked out of him and I stood up only to fall back down. The rope around my ankles was tied tight and I immediately went to work on trying to untie it, and Daniels was grabbing at his chest trying to get some air.

"Serves you right for doing the same thing to me last month!" I hoped he would have a heart attack, and prayed I had hit him hard enough to have it happen.

I got the rope off faster than I thought I would have and jumped up to run for the door. Daniels had put me in some make shift room in what looked like a tin shed. The door didn't look like it would be too hard to shove open. But before I could get to the door my hair was being yanked behind me.

Daniels had apparently been able to get some air and was now right behind me. I cursed at him and turned around to land a kick in his crotch. He went down pretty hard and I made my way back to getting the door to open.

Ted hadn't been in the room with us and I was scared shitless that he'd been waiting for me outside. I wasn't sure how long I'd been passed out for but the moon was still out. The door budged open slowly because rust was collecting around the hinges.

I looked outside and saw a bunch of sheds, like the one I had been tied up in, all pushed close together. I turned around and saw a big wooden barn that looked like it had been in a fire. Ted was nowhere in sight, but I wasn't going to stick around long enough to see if he was hiding.

I wasn't worried about the ropes that were cutting off the circulation to my hands. I had gotten my legs free and that's all I needed to run out and away from this cluster fuck I'd gotten myself into.

I'd been running for ten minutes, and my lungs were screaming at me to stop. I wanted to pinch myself for throwing my phone into the pond, I could be calling for help right now.

I found some boulders that were formed together and ran to go and hide behind them to catch my breath. My thoughts strayed to Ranger, and if he would find me any time soon. I really just wanted to go back to the night when he'd stayed with me and told me he'd never wanted me to be Mrs. Morelli.

_Fucking Joe_.

He was the main reason I was in this mess, running from this pyscho.

I was so tired from running, and my legs were killing me. I was sitting in a cave like area the boulders had formed and was trying to bite the ropes off of my wrist. I'd fallen quite a few times when I was running and I'd felt blood running down my arm where I'd scraped it. My knees were bruised to hell and my elbows were probably just as bad.

I'd lost all the adrenaline I'd had earlier running from Daniels and I could feel my body starting to crash. I curled up in a ball and finally allowed myself some tears. Ranger had no way of knowing where I was, I had no idea where I was. The middle of nowhere really. I had slowly started to drift off to sleep when I remembered something I should have thought of earlier.

A while back Ranger had slipped some GPS trackers into the bottoms of my shoes on the rubber soles. He'd told me that if I could reach anything sharp then to get it and rip the tracker out of my shoe then switch it on. I had to turn it on because the tracker only had a few hours battery life. I had no idea if these shoes were one of the pairs he had used, but I ripped them off full of hope.

I found the sharpest rock I could and started to hack away at the bottom of my sneaker. And my heart did cart wheels because after I'd started to rip the layers back I saw a small black rectangle. I pulled the tracker out of the shoe and flipped it over in my hand. I saw the tiny switch and pushed it to send out my location.

I took a deep breath and realized that there was hope. The feeling of hope must have been a lot of feeling, because my stomach churned and I had to run out of the covered area to throw up again.

_It must be all this craziness and stress, Ranger will find me, I just need to stay calm_.

I crawled back in the covering and curled into a ball. I let the thought of Ranger holding me try to warm me, because the night had gotten extremely cold and the temperatures had dropped. I had started to drift off and a thought kept tugging at my mind.

My curiosity has gotten the best of me many times, and it got the best of me now. Because I couldn't let the thought go. I had to know what was bugging me when I should be getting any amount of rest possible, who knew if I would have to be running for my life again.

And then it hit me.

My period was late, and not by a few days, by a couple weeks…..


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews! And the follows. I'm glad you all like the story! I don't own anything.

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Rpov

Steph had been gone for hours. The men and I had searched all through the town, and I was waiting on a phone call from Daniels to taunt me. Shane had a knot on his head the size of a baseball, but refused any help. He probably felt nearly as terrible as I did right now about my Babe being taken.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

I was really starting to lose it. As soon as I got her back we were going back to Trenton. No ifs, ands, or buts. I was taking her back to RangeMan and she wouldn't be leaving my sight again. Damn, I couldn't believe this. I pulled out my cell and called Tank.

"Any signs or word on anything yet?"

"No bossman. We're getting to the outskirts of town, and we're not leaving anything unturned. We'll find her soon. Daniels only has this town before the long stretch drive to New Jersey."

I knew that Daniels wasn't ready to head to New Jersey. My contacts in Mexico said he hadn't been to pick up the shipment yet. And smuggling a person across the border was a lot harder than smuggling drugs. So I was going to take several deep breaths, and keep my temper under control.

This proved not to be the easiest task, the thought that Shane was supposed to be keeping an eye on her kept coming to mind. And even worse, I'd walked away from her right before it all happened.

Just then I heard my phone making an alarm sound, and my heart beat skipped. Stephanie had brought a pair of shoes that had a tracker in them! And she'd set it off!

I called Tank once again.

"Get back to the ranch house. Steph set off a GPS signal, it's showing about forty five miles out. I'll load up some equipment and we're leaving."

Tank and Lester only took ten minutes to return, and by that time I'd loaded up a blanket for Steph, some water bottles, and a first aid kit. We already had extra ammo and I had a feeling I'd like to use my hands as weapons a lot more than my gun.

"Ranger, we're leaving Shane here. He's not really in the best of shape to deal with things if it gets complicated," Lester told me.

I nodded my approval at them and we got in the SUV. Shane walked inside and saluted us as we drove off, a disappointed look on his face.

"He wants to pull apart whoever took off with Bomber and knocked him on the head." Tank said, looking like he wanted the same thing.

"Well I'll be the one doing that. You and Lester just make sure that Steph is out of the way."

They agreed and we rode the rest of the way in silence. I'd been taking the old paved road well over 100 m.p.h and we'd be arriving in less than five minutes.

The GPS was showing she was quite a ways off of the road so when the blip on the screen of my phone showed we were as close as we could get, we took off to go by foot. A flat tire would get us nowhere, and if my Babe was in bad shape I wanted to get her help, and fast.

Within fifteen minutes the beeping on my cell was coming at faster intervals. We scouted the area and made sure there was no threat. There was not a soul in sight but there were many places a sniper could hide in these huge rock formations. I rechecked the signal and saw that it was coming from the largest grouping of stones. We took the land quickly and I saw an opening. Something was splattered on the rocks.

Vomit.

She was here, and something wasn't right if she had vomited again. I launched my body down into the covering and what I saw next stopped my heart. My Babe was curled into a ball, tears had stained her dusted face. She had on only one shoe and her hands were bloodied, probably from trying to get the tracker out. Her elbows and knees were a bloody mess as well, and a bruise was on her cheek. Since she was asleep I didn't want to alarm her, so I carefully put my hand to her back and said her name quietly.

"Babe."

She blinked her eyes open and then threw her body into my arms. Crying into my shoulder and saying my name over and over.

"Ranger, I thought they were going to find me before you did."  
"Shh Babe, I'm here. We're going to get you somewhere safe, alright?"

She was so cold. I had my arms wrapped around her and reached down to scoop her up and carry her out of the covered area. She dropped her head on my shoulder and was shaking.

"I've got a blanket for you in the SUV ok Babe?"

She mumbled something and rubbed her face farther into my chest. She was cradling her hands on her stomach and was trying not to let them touch together.

"Does anything hurt Babe?"  
"Mm. Hands." Her voice was shaking as much as she was.

I pulled her closer to me and tried to warm her as much as I could for the walk back to the SUV. Lester was in front of us, while Tank pulled up the back. They had both cautiously looked Steph over when I pulled her out of the cave.

"Lester go on ahead and get the heater going in the vehicle." I wanted to hurry and get my Babe warm as quickly as possible. Her shaking was worrying me more by the minute. I doubled our pace and didn't have to check to see if Tank was keeping up. He was worried about Steph too.

The SUV was heated by the time we got there and Lester opened the door for me to set Stephanie down. She whimpered when I lowered her and mumbled something at me again.

"What did you say Babe?"

"Please don't leave me Ranger."

"I'll be right back, I've just got to go check on something."

"You're always going."

I didn't want to leave her ever again, so I did something I usually would never do. I sent Tank to go and do my job, while I stayed and pulled Steph onto my lap to hold her for the drive back to the ranch house.

"Babe, do you remember how you got out to the cave?"  
"I ran there, I thought he was going to find me. I needed to hide."

"Who would find you?"  
"Daniels. Or Ted."

The name Ted must belong to the man Daniels sent to pick Stephanie up. Ted would definitely be regretting working for Daniels later. First I had to get Steph back somewhere safe.

"I remember where they were keeping me." Her voice had been so faint I wouldn't have heard her if I hadn't been paying so close attention to everything about her.

"Where would that be Babe?"  
"It's about ten or fifteen minutes behind where I was hiding. I'm not sure though. I was running and falling a lot. We can go and see if Daniels is still there."  
"As soon as Tank gets back from checking around the boulders we're going to get you back to the house then I'll go check it out."  
"No Ranger, we need to go now. What if he's gone by the time you get there?"

She was making a valid point.

"Are you sure you're ok to go back there?" She looked so scared, but I knew she wouldn't let it stop her.

"Yes, let's go." And with that Tank got into the passenger seat and we took off being directed by Stephanie.

Spov

I knew it would have only been a matter of time before Ranger would find me. And when he had picked me up and cradled me against him I had wanted to cry all over again. I had fallen asleep to the fears of what my late period meant, and had tried my best to blame it on the stress of the past month. But for now, I was going to focus on helping Ranger to get Daniels out of my life for good.

We took a dirt road off of the paved one and drove on it for ten minutes before we came up to the cluster of tin sheds and the burnt barn.

"Is this the place Bomber?"

I nodded my head to Lester and was told to stay in the car.

"NO! Ranger, you said you wouldn't leave me behind again!"

Ranger cursed and then gently took my hand that wasn't covered in scratches from the sharp rock I'd used to get the tracker.

We slowly walked over to the first few sheds and Ranger had pulled out his gun and ordered me to stay behind them. Twenty minutes later all the sheds had been checked besides one.

It was the one that I had been tied up in.

Lester and Tank busted the door down and signaled Ranger and me when it had been cleared. I looked around and saw where he had tied me up, Ranger had seen it too, and he did not look happy. I looked to another side of the shed and noticed a white piece of paper hanging. Tank went to grab it and handed it to Ranger.

Ranger scanned the letter and crushed it in the blink of an eye.

"What does it say bossman?" Lester and Tank were curious as well.

"Don't worry about it." They immediately hushed themselves, but I wasn't one of the Merry Men and I wanted to know what the hell it said.

"Tell me what it says Ranger."  
He crushed the note harder in his fists and then put it in his pocket.

"No. And don't ask me again."  
This really set me off. Not only had I been through hell and back tonight, but now Ranger was acting all macho man again and not including me!

"Fine, Ranger. Keep it to yourself, fill Lester and Tank in later, and leave me in the dark."  
He knew I was pissed but it still didn't sway him. With nothing left to see we went back to the SUV and I realized that the best way for me to figure out the note was to play along. It was the only way I'd be able to keep myself in the loop.

So when we got into the SUV I didn't even put up a fight with Ranger when he pulled me into his lap, not that I would have anyways. I was still pretty shaken over the events of the day, and the thoughts stuck in my mind.

We got back to the house and Ranger followed me into the bedroom. I went ahead and walked into the bathroom, stripping my clothes off as I went. I went to the sink to brush my teeth and rinse my mouth out, and Ranger just leaned against the opposite wall and watched me. When I was finished I went to unhook my bra but Ranger's fingers were already there.

He took my bra off, kissing each of my shoulders, and a shiver ran over my body.

"Babe, I don't think I've ever wanted you so badly."  
I turned around to look into his eyes and saw that he wasn't lying. He leaned away from me to turn on the shower and set it to the appropriate heat then came back to me. His hands were running up and down my body and I was getting hotter and hotter.

"Ranger, I love you."

_What the hell? Why had that slipped out?_

"I mean, I'm glad that you found me tonight." I was hoping he'd forget the first words that I'd said. Luckily he didn't say anything back, but crashed his face onto mine and started kissing me. The bite of the bruise on my cheek had hurt, but when I flinched he'd eased back and started to kiss it softly, trailing kisses down my neck and then further.

He put his hands under my arms and lifted me into the shower, the warm water rolled down my body and the aches I had felt were slowly going away. When I felt Ranger move in behind me the aches were non-existent. Probably due to the fact that I had a gorgeous man behind me kissing and biting at my neck.

I turned around and kissed him until I was sure my face had fallen off. He spent the next hour making me appreciate a shower at a whole new level. When we got out he towel dried me and slipped one of his t-shirts over my head and I pulled on a new pair of underwear. He carried me to the bed and settled in behind me, pulling me close. Ranger was not a man of many words, and for once this made me happy. I really didn't want to go over my mouth slip earlier with my declaration of love for him.

_I do love him though._

I knew that his steady breathing meant he was asleep, and I'd have to be very careful because he would wake at the slightest noise. Even me getting out of the bed he had stirred.

"I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

He nodded at me and I stood up walking to the bathroom. His pants were still on the floor by the shower and sure enough, his pocket still had the paper. I pulled it out and flushed the toilet, to cover up the sound of me straightening out the paper. The last thing I needed was Batman busting in here with his supersonic hearing.

I looked down at the paper and started to read.

_Stephanie,_

_You BITCH! Do you think that you're something smart just because I LET you get away from me? I hope the coyotes rip you apart, and if they don't I'll find out. Then I'll find you again and waste no time at all making you regret hitting me in the balls. You stupid whore. I'm going to tie you up and cut off a finger for thinking you can get away from me. Then I'm going to take my time fucking your brains out. Now I know that if you're reading this then you found your owner, since he says you're HIS, and he's trying to find me. He won't. So now let me list you all the ways I'm going to make you regret running away from me._

_I'm going to tie you up in ropes so tight that your fingers and toes are going to go numb._

_I'm going to burn those pretty legs of yours with my cigarette. _

_I'm going to leave scars on those breasts of yours._

There was more to the letter but I was seeing double and couldn't read any further. I wadded up the paper and threw it against the sink. I must have made enough noise to wake Batman because he swung the door open and saw the letter on the sink.

"Damn it Stephanie! I told you not to read it! Why can't you listen to a damn thing I say?!"

"I don't deserve to be left in the dark Ranger! Why would you hide that from me?"  
"Because how do you feel now knowing what he wants to do to you?"  
I felt completely like shit. And sick, I was genuinely scared for my life all over again. But lying sounded a better route to go when it came to telling Ranger my feelings.

"I feel fine Ranger. I don't see what the huge fuss is about."  
He knew I was lying, damn him.

"Alright Babe, then would you like to analyze the letter further? How about we talk about the list of things he wants to do to you? Tie you up? Cut you? And I think number ten said something about strangling you while he makes you suck his.."  
"SHUT UP RANGER!" Tears had already started to run down my face and I was shaking all over again.

"Just get out, go get your own room, and leave me the hell alone." Here I go again, pushing him away.

"No."

"What do you mean no? Go away Ranger!"

"No."

_Damn it!_

"LEAVE RANGER!" So I know screaming and throwing a fit wasn't exactly mature, but I wasn't in the right state of mind to be mature at the moment. Having a psycho wanting to rape, cut, and kill you wasn't something that would put you in a good mind set.

"Babe, I'm not leaving you. I'm staying, and in the morning we're heading back to Trenton. You're overdue to see Rex. And when we get there, you're staying with me."  
I did a double take. I was going to stay with Ranger?

"Now stop pushing me away, come here, and let's get some sleep."  
I didn't put up any more of a fight. I let him pick me up and carry me back to bed. I fell asleep before he did, and when I woke he was still there. And so were the thoughts that I'd be needing to make a trip to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test when we got home. The only problem was, how was I going to do it without body guards watching my every move? I definitely didn't need the world to know that I was maybe carrying around a tiny Ranger inside of me.

My hand moved down to my stomach and I started to rub it, thinking of my maybe baby. And how Ranger was going to react when I told him. I knew I wouldn't tell him till I was one hundred percent sure, but the thought nearly made me panic. I didn't want to be left to do this on my own. Children scared me more than crazy skips.

"Are you hungry Babe?" Ranger was awake and watching me rub my stomach. I stopped doing so immediately.

"Uh, yea."

"Well let's get you some breakfast then pack up. I'll give you some time to tell Shane goodbye."  
"Shane's ok!?"

Ranger laughed at me and nodded his head, swatting me on the butt to get me going. He was out of the room and I was up grabbing all of my stuff. He must have wrapped my hand up in bandages while I was asleep, because I didn't remember doing it myself last night. He cared about me, but how much did he care? And would it be enough to stick around when I told him I was knocked up? IF I was knocked up?


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own anything. This chapter gets to the point pretty much. thank you for the reviews!

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We'd been back in Trenton for a week, and I still hadn't made it to the pharmacy. I was lying in bed wondering if I could get away from Rico, my body guard, to make the secretive purchase at all today.

Nothing had really changed here at home. The Burg was still full of gossip. And thanks to someone taking hostages at the local bank, before robbing it and getting away, I was no longer the juiciest news on the grapevine.

Due to the search for the getaway bank robber I hadn't seen Joe since I'd been back. I'd only really seen my family. And the first night I'd been back had been hell.

I thought I'd have to sit through a dinner, but come to find out, my mother hasn't really been cooking lately. Then when I walked inside, my mother had gone bat shit crazy. She actually threw a dinner plate at my head, and was drunk off her ass in the process. So I hugged my father and told him I was fine, and promised Grandma Mazur I'd meet her for lunch next week. The lunch was later today and I really should be getting up and ready.

Ranger's duffel bag was sitting in the corner and aside from that, along with his Bvlgari body wash in the shower, you'd never think anyone else was staying here with me. He always put his tooth brush away after he was finished with it and never left clothes lying about anywhere.

Ranger had taken me back home and had agreed to stay at my apartment with me, instead of me staying at his. Not that I didn't want to stay with him, I just really had been homesick and wanted to sleep in my own bed. The sleep had barely happened though, due to Ranger not being able to keep his hands off of me, yet I'm pretty sure I hadn't been able to keep my hands off of him as well. Yet, every morning, Ranger was gone by daylight.

I heard knocking on my door and knew it was Rico. I groaned and pulled the blankets higher above my face. Rico wasn't too bad, but he never spoke. I sometimes would manage to get a grunt out of him, but that was it. I'm pretty sure he only spoke when it was to Ranger.

"I'm coming Rico!"

I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on some sweat pants on. I walked to the door and opened it, sure enough, Rico was standing there in dark jeans and a black shirt.

"We've got to meet for lunch with my grandma today."  
He nodded at me and went to start making me some coffee.

"Well I'm going to get ready, I'll be out in twenty minutes."  
Another nod.

I took a shower and pulled on a pair of faded jeans. I combed my wet curls and then pulled on a green blouse. I had a worn brown leather jacket that I loved, and was able to wear it now that I was back in the brisk New Jersey weather.

Looking myself over in the mirror, I decided that I was ready to go. I grabbed my purse that held my gun, pepper spray, and stun gun. I hadn't seen any sign of Daniels, and neither had Rangeman. I knew not to get too comfortable so I had cleaned everything out of my purse except for my protection weapons and wallet for easy access.

"You ready to meet Grandma Mazur Rico? She even makes Tank uneasy."

He nodded at me and we headed out. Ranger had made me agree to ride in a Rangeman SUV that had GPS and Rico would be my chauffer. I no longer had problems with GPS trackers and had agreed.

The drive to my childhood home was a short one, and my grandmother was waiting outside when we pulled up.

"Isn't this a pip? Where did you rent this from Steph? And what's with the sexy, dark, mysterious driver? Oh I can't wait to tell the girls about this when I go to get my hair done tomorrow."  
As usual my grandmother was a mile a minute.

"It belongs to Ranger's company, and he's watching out for me right now. So I agreed to let him send someone to ride me around for a couple weeks."  
"A couple weeks? What's going on that you need a driver for a couple weeks? Just come get Old Blue again, I don't mind."  
I just smiled and chose not to respond. I despised that giant blue chunk of metal. It never got me anywhere good when I was chasing skips. But I wasn't allowed to chase skips until Daniels was caught, but I didn't plan on going with that one for much longer. I was getting bored, and rent was coming up again. But I wasn't sure what I'd do if I found out about my maybe baby.

"Where do you want to eat today Grandma?"  
"Let's go to that new place across town. I want to tell the girls if it's any good. It's a Mexican restaurant. We have to order a margarita! I'll feel so exotic!"  
"Alright Grandma, but I'll stick to some water. It's too early for me to drink."  
I'd just have to hope that my grandmother wouldn't ask further why I didn't want to drink.

We got to the restaurant and ordered some chips and salsa. Grandma Mazur wanted Rico to sit by her and he looked a little worried. I laughed on the inside and enjoyed watching Rico squirm a little next to her.

"Stephanie, I need to talk to you about your mother."  
I frowned. I didn't really want to talk about her.

"She's starting to drink more every day. And at first she would hide it, but now she just doesn't care. I think it's all on account of that cop boyfriend of yours coming over and talking to her."  
"Joe isn't my boyfriend any longer, and what was he going and talking to her about?"  
"He was telling her that you had broken up with him, but he'd get you back. And that you had run off with Ranger to elope. I really think that the eloping part was great. So scandalous! I want to run off and elope with someone."  
My mouth had dropped open and my eyes were probably bugging out of my eye sockets.

"JOE SAID WHAT!?"

I couldn't believe this! My mother probably believes that I'm married to Ranger!

"Grandma we have to go and tell her the truth. I'm not married! I didn't go to Texas to run away with Ranger. I went to get an FTA and things went a little crazy."  
"Oh really? That's too bad. I'd have married Ranger if I were you. He's so smoking! And you'd have that great ass to look at for the rest of your days."

The thought of marrying Ranger was getting my heart beat to speed up. And that made me think of my trip to the pharmacy. There was no way I'd be able to buy a pregnancy test without it getting around the Burg, and back to the all hearing Ranger. Along with that, I wouldn't be able to get out from under Rico without hearing it from Ranger, if I could even get out of sight from Rico to begin with.

So with that I knew I had a phone call to make.

"Grandma, I'm going to go to the restroom I'll be right back."  
Rico nodded at me as I got up and made my way across the restaurant. The smell of the greasy cheese was making me nauseous and the trip to the bathroom wasn't just to make a secret phone call. I knew I wasn't going to throw up but I still didn't want to take a risk out at the table.

I pulled out my new phone and dialed the only person I knew I could trust right now.

"Hey Mary Lou, how are you?"  
"Hey yourself Steph, when are you going to come over and have some coffee with me?"

"How about later today? But first I really need a big favor from you, and I don't have enough time to explain."  
"Sure, what's up?"

"I need you to get me a pregnancy test."  
"A WHAT?!"  
"A pregnancy test. I don't have time to talk about it. We'll talk over coffee. Just please get it for me today."  
She said she would and we hung up. As soon as we hung up my phone rang again.

"Yo." Ranger's voice was sending shivers down my spine. Even with words alone I wanted him.  
"Yo, yourself."  
"I'll be back late tonight. Rico already knows to stay later."  
"Oh, Ok."  
"Don't stay out past dark. See you later."  
And then he hung up. I had wanted to ask where he would be, but I knew he wouldn't tell me. He'd grown even more secretive ever since we'd returned home.

I walked out of the restroom and resumed my seat opposite of Grandma Mazur.

"I've got to get back Steph. Your father probably wants to get some air but won't leave your mother. Helen really is getting bad. Maybe we should talk to her today?"  
"Ok Grandma."  
We rode back to my parent's house and I took a deep breath before walking in the front door. All the blinds were drawn closed and my mother was sleeping on the couch, her hair was a mess. She wasn't wearing make-up and nothing had smelt like food cooking, which is the usual smell of the house.

"Mom?"  
She stirred awake and stared at me.

"What do you want? Did you come here to tell me more news that will only make the neighbors think worse?"  
"Mother." My patience really was wearing thin with her the older I got.

"Frank! Your daughter is here! She must be here to see you, because I've no need to see her anymore."  
The last statement hurt. But I knew it was probably the whiskey talking. My father walked down the stairs and gave me a weak smile.

"Mom, I heard that Joe came and told you I had run off to marry Ranger."  
"Joe is a good man, why did you throw that away? He could actually put up with your nonsense job, and all the trouble you put yourself in."  
Jeez, she sounded just like Joe.

"Mother, I do not put myself in trouble, my job is not nonsense, and I am not married to Ranger."  
"You're not?" She looked extremely relieved.  
"No, and next time Joe tells you something, how about you ask your own daughter before assuming he's telling you the truth."  
She rolled her eyes at me and muttered under her breath. I looked at my dad and my heart felt for him. Putting up with my mother couldn't have been easy with her in this state.

"Hi daddy."

"Hi honey."  
"Frank, go get my glass from the kitchen."  
My dad disappeared behind the corner and I looked at my mother again.

"How much have you been drinking mom?"  
"None of your business."  
"You need to quit, I can find you some classes or something if you need me to."  
She snorted at me.

"Why? So that I can have more negative attention drawn to this family? You've done enough of that for us all."  
"Helen watch your mouth talking to Stephanie that way. She's done no harm to this family." My grandma was coming to my rescue.

"She's got a nonsense job. She needs to quit and marry Joe, and have Morelli children."  
"I'm through with Joe, Mother. He's never going to be back in my life again."  
"Well what did you do? He'll forgive you, he told me he would."  
"I'm not going back to Joe. I did nothing wrong. Would you believe me if I told you he had done me wrong?"  
She just laughed at me.

"I'm leaving now, I came here to tell you what I needed to say, and you apparently aren't wanting to hear me."  
"You will not leave this house until you agree to marry Joe!"  
I couldn't believe her.

"No Mother!"  
"You are an insult to this family! The whole community laughs at you and it looks bad on me!"  
"Enough Helen!"  
My father's voice made me jump.

"Frank…" My mother looked just as stunned as me and Grandma did.

"No, Helen. I've had enough of your drunken antics. Stephanie is a great daughter, and doesn't want to throw her life away with Morelli. She's a bad ass bounty hunter. How many guys can say that at the barbers? Get off her back, or I'm leaving."  
"Dad?"  
"Stephanie, you run along and go do whatever you had planned for the rest of the day. We'll see you for dinner Sunday. Your mother will have her act cleaned up by then."  
I just nodded my head and made my way out the door. The whole thing had blown my mind. And for once, I knew I wouldn't be trying to get Rico to speak. I needed some time with my own thoughts.

I sat in the car and told Rico Mary Lou's address. We pulled up and he parked.

"I'm going to be inside for an hour or so. I don't want you in there. You'll scare her kids."

He looked like he wanted to argue but then chose to nod and sit back down in the driver's seat. I thanked God for small victories and walked into Mary Lou's house.

This was a place where you could tell toddler's lived. Toys littered every part of the floor, and I thought I could see crayon marks on a part of the wall. The whole thing was putting me on edge for what I was going to have to do soon.

"Steph!" Mary Lou attacked me with a hug. She'd been my best friend for as long as I could remember. And I was so thankful for her today.

"Did you get the test?"  
"Yes, but now Mrs. Rizzoli thinks I'm pregnant again. You owe me."  
"I'll make it up to you I swear."

"Well, I'm calling on my tab. Tell me what the hell is going on. And what happened in Texas."

I went on to tell her about Daniels and everything that had gone wrong. I told her about me leaving Joe and how he'd betrayed me. Then I told her about Ranger, and what was going on in my love department.

"Joe is such a rat. But Ranger on the other hand seems like a total babe. And he obviously cares about you. Do you really think you're pregnant?"  
"I hope not. I'm no good with kids. And Ranger is going to freak if I am. I've been having these weird nausea attacks."

"Well you go on up to the bathroom and call if you need me. I'll wait outside the door after I put the kids down for their nap."  
I gave a nervous sigh and made my way to go and pee on the stick that could change my life.

Three minutes later and I couldn't make myself look down at it. Mary Lou was talking to me trying to comfort my fears and I unlocked the door to let her in.

"Have you looked at it yet?"  
"No. I can't. I'm sweating I'm so nervous. It's worse than that time we thought we were going to get caught for lifting the gum off of Mrs. Rizzoli's store."

"That was the worst. But you'll be ok. I bet you're not even pregnant. Probably you've just been really stressed and missed your period. And the nausea is because you've developed some food allergies."  
I knew she was trying to reach for all the possibilities. I could only hope she were picking true ones.

"Alright I'll look at it."

I walked over to the sink and looked down.

"Steph, what are you doing?" Mary Lou had asked me after a moment.

"I'm turning it upside down. That's what you do to a smile when you want it to be a frown."  
"You're pregnant?"  
I looked up at her and tears rolled down my face, and my hand went to my stomach.

"Yes."


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews! I don't own anything!

* * *

Spov

So I hadn't been on birth control since college. And after I'd gotten with Joe my life had kind of gone a little crazy and I'd forgotten to renew my prescription. So after a few months I thought nothing of it. Me and Joe had always been safe, but even during the drunken times when we weren't I had never gotten pregnant. I really believed it was me that was the problem. That I couldn't have kids.

So when I was sitting in the doctor's office and was given a date that matched up with the time me and Ranger had spent together that first day at the ranch house together in the shower, I knew that it wasn't my reproductive system that had been the issue, it was Joe's.

_Damn, damn, damn._

I should have just gotten myself checked to see if I were the problem back then. I knew it was stupid, but I was functioning on the thought that my reproductive system was a dud.

It was a bad moment, but I actually took a second to relish the fact that Joe was sterile. No Morelli children for him. Thank God for the woman he ended up with. Imagine if she had another little Joe Morelli running around playing games in garages like Joe did with me.

I'd had Rico take me home yesterday after I had taken the test at Mary Lou's and made sure I was asleep before Ranger had gotten to my apartment for the night. I made a phone call to my lady doctor the next morning and told Rico I had a yearly commitment to keep with her that was due that day.

And now I was sitting on a cold exam table, with no underwear, feeling vulnerable enough as it is. I was trying to listen to her tell me about prenatal pills, and eating dos and don'ts. Looks like no more jelly donuts for me. Strangely enough the thought of eating healthy food wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it would be.

When she'd done an ultrasound, using some equipment that went where I'd rather it wouldn't have, I'd seen a tiny little blip. Then after the feeling of passing out had passed, I took a deep breath. During the deep breath my world changed. I wanted to be healthy for the tiny dot on the screen. And even though I was scared shitless, I was going to keep it safe.

"Just remember, no chain smoking Stephanie."  
My doctor liked to joke. She knew I didn't smoke, and was trying to make light of the situation.

"Dr. Harrison? Could you please keep this to yourself? The last thing I need is for your mom to tell my grandma at the salon. Then the whole community will know and I'm barely processing the fact that I'm knocked up as it is."  
"Stephanie, you are not 'knocked up'. You're pregnant. And it's going to be a beautiful thing for you. Don't let gossip ruin this. I won't say a word. I take patient confidentiality very seriously. Now go on and get dressed. I'll get the bill ready for the front. See you in a few weeks."  
I sighed and went to change. I'd paid at the front desk and saw that Rico was waiting outside with the car running.

"Rico, can we go to Rangeman?"  
He nodded his head at me and pulled off of the curb. I had a promise to keep, and now that I knew one hundred percent that I was pregnant, I had to tell Ranger. The thought made me breathless. I was so worried what he was going to say and how he was going to react.

The building was as intimidating as Ranger. Out of the whole neighborhood it was the only building that wasn't tagged with graffiti. I walked through the doors and greeted the front desk saying I was there for Ranger. He'd made sure everyone knew who I was and I was buzzed right up.

Ranger was sitting in a big office, and was talking on the phone behind a big oak desk. He acknowledged me and held up a finger. I went to sit down on a chair on the opposite side of the desk and watched his face as he spoke. I didn't get to watch long because after saying that he'd phone back in a few days he hung up.

"What's up Babe?"  
I tried to find the words and kept coming up short.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded and started to fiddle with my hands.

"Ranger, there's something I need to tell you. But to be honest, I'm really scared."  
"What's wrong?"

He was starting to look worried, and it gave me a little hope.

"Ranger….I'm pregnant."  
His face immediately slipped to a blank one. That was not a good sign.

"I went to the doctor today to make sure, and I'm definitely pregnant."  
He was just staring at me. Then he looked at my stomach. My hand went down and held my middle.

"Is it Joe's?"

I could have died. The breath left my lungs, and my vision went fuzzy. My heart shattered, and the room was so quiet that I'm sure I could hear all of the little pieces of it crashing onto the floor.

"No, Ranger. Joe is not the father."

I stood up and turned towards the door. Ranger did nothing to stop me, and that hurt me even further. I just needed to get out of the suffocating room and away from the man that I loved, but who was breaking my heart.

I ran into Tank on my way to the stair case. The elevator wasn't going to be fast enough for me.

"Hey Bomber, what's wrong?"

I felt tears running down my cheeks and wiped them away.

"Nothing Tank. Hey tell Lula that I'm going to go to Vinnie's in a few days, and to leave some time for us to catch lunch."  
"I will. Cheer up. Rico is out front waiting for you."

I took the stairs two at a time and was regretting that I wasn't the best athlete. By the bottom I was getting a cramp in my side and could hardly breathe. I started to exit out of the front door but couldn't handle anything that would remind me of Ranger. I chose the side door instead and made my way to the back of the building.

I called Mary Lou and had her pick me up. I was sitting on the curb crying again and she came out to help me into the car.

"What's wrong honey?"  
I cried through the whole story telling and stole a look at her face. She didn't look happy and drove off like a bat from hell. I wasn't crying any more but had gotten the hiccups.

"Where are we going Mary Lou?"  
"To the shore. We need a mini vacation."

I didn't disagree. Running away to the shore with my best friend sounded like exactly what I needed right now. A thought hit me and I dug through my purse. I grabbed my cell phone and pulled the battery out of it. No GPS tracking for Ranger today.

Rpov

"I'm pregnant."

_What the fuck_.

"I went to the doctor today to make sure, and I'm definitely pregnant."  
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I could just stare at her, and then it really hit me. It wasn't just her anymore, it was a baby AND her. I looked down to her stomach.

She was so beautiful and now she was carrying a child. Could it be my child? It better be my child. If it was Joe's I'd kill him.

_Shit. Joe. Could it be possible?_

The next thing that came out of my mouth I was not proud of. It was probably going to rank number one on my list of worst things ever said.

"Is it Joe's?"

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Stephanie confirmed that it wasn't Joe's and she walked out with tears in her eyes. I was still too in shock to get up and stop her.

A few minutes later there was a knock on my office door and Tank walked in.

"What did you do to Stephanie?"  
The accusation, even though it were true, made the knife I'd stuck in my heart plunge deeper.

"She's pregnant."  
Tank's eyes widened.

"I asked her if it was Joe's."  
"You did what! Ranger she couldn't get out of here fast enough! You made her cry!"  
I was regretting everything that had happened a few minutes before Tank had walked in.

"Why did I ask her if it were Joe's?"  
Tank's hard face softened.

"Ranger, in all of the years that I've known you you've barely let anyone close enough to you to even call you a friend. Then you meet Stephanie. And you being a closed up person went to shit. Stop fighting it. That's what's fucking it all up for you. You love Stephanie. Don't lie to me and deny it."  
"Tank, I have no idea what to do. I had Julie, and I couldn't make that relationship work. How am I supposed to make it work with Steph? I don't want to ruin that too."  
"You didn't ruin your relationship with Julie's mother. It wasn't meant to work for a reason. You two weren't meant for each other and you definitely weren't in love. Stephanie loves you Ranger. She's put up with your bullshit, and she's stuck around when you pushed her away with everything you've had."

Then it hit me. All the times I'd wrapped my Babe in my arms, the times I'd made her laugh, the feeling of her falling asleep next to me, the way she made me feel hopeful, all the ways she made me start to turn into a better person. I was completely in love with this woman. And she was pregnant with my child.

Then it hit me even harder. I needed to get my life together, so that I could make it work with Stephanie. I didn't want her to raise the baby by herself, like it had happened with Julie's mother. I didn't want her by herself any longer.

I'd fucked up so much when it came to her. And now she'd told me she was pregnant and I fucked that up too. I can't believe I'd let her leave crying. She'd even confessed that she had been scared to tell me she was pregnant.

_Babe._

I had to make this right. I had to make us right. I'd loved Steph since the first night we'd spent together. Maybe even before then. I was going to make this work between us. It wasn't only just us anymore, it was going to be a baby now too.

The thought scared me. Out of all of the things in the world that did not frighten me, Stephanie pregnant with my child did. All of the possibilities that could go wrong with this scared me. Our child being a trouble magnet like its mother scared me. Stephanie pregnant with our child and Daniels still wanting to take her from me scared me.

There had been no sign of Daniels in the week that we'd been back. But my contact in Mexico said that he'd heard Daniels had picked up his shipment a few days before. That had meant he'd be in New Jersey soon. And I'd gotten home too late to tell Steph the night before. I was going to double up her body guards today, but she'd left before I could assign another. And I'd just let her leave.

"Ranger?" Tank had walked back into the office.

"Yes?"  
"Stephanie has gone off the grid. Rico never picked her up after she left here. Surveillance shows she took a side door and a woman in a maroon minivan helped her into the car and took off. She must have turned off the tracker in her phone."  
"Damn it! Get me that video footage now!"

Tank had one of the men bring the DVD from security and popped it into the laptop on my desk. Sure enough, Stephanie was sitting on the curb holding her side and wiping her face. My heart hurt all over again. I'd done this to her. A few minutes later the van pulled up and a woman got out and hugged her. It was Stephanie's friend Mary Lou.

"Get the cell number for Mary Lou Stankovic. Call me when you have it."  
It only took five minutes and I was dialing Mary Lou's number, hoping like hell they hadn't gone far. I'd sent men out to her house to see if Steph had gone there but only the husband and children were home. She'd phoned to say she'd be home late.

"Hello?"  
"This is Carlos Manoso. Is Stephanie with you?"  
"Umm, well she was. But now I'm trying to find her."  
"Excuse me?" I held my breath.

"We came to the shore and there was a parade going on. She wanted to do something to keep her mind off of her bad day. So we were in the crowd and I turned my back for a second but when I turned around she was gone. She doesn't have her phone on so I can't call her. And I'd dropped her off to park the car so she doesn't know where we are parked."  
"Where exactly are you?"  
"On the pier with the carnival rides, I lost her at the end of the boardwalk with the parade."  
"I'll be there shortly. Keep your phone close by I'll be contacting you again."  
I hung up and rubbed my temples. This day was getting shittier by the minute.

"Tank, we're going to the shore. Stephanie's gotten separated from Mary Lou. Call and see if there has been any sighting of Daniels in the area."

Tank nodded at me and was out of the room. I checked my three guns and grabbed my jacket to head out. The vehicle was already waiting for me with the key in the ignition.

I jumped behind the wheel and took off towards the shore. Tank was driving behind me. I wasn't sure if this was just a case of Stephanie getting lost from her friend, or if something had caused her to get separated. It wasn't going to take me long to find her. I was very determined, and nothing was going to get in the way of me apologizing to Steph and taking her home tonight.

Spov

Mary Lou and I had ridden on the ferris wheel three times, and she told me that a little cotton candy wouldn't hurt so we bought a bag to share. The day had turned into night, and even for a brief while she helped me to forget about all the hurt I was feeling.

"Maybe he was just surprised Steph."  
"Maybe." I knew it was probably true but my heart was hurting too much to care.

"So what do you want to do now? We could go eat at the bar we used to sneak into. We haven't had their nachos in forever."  
"Mary Lou, if we go there I'll get depressed again. It'll just remind me I can't drink, and a drink would really keep my mind off of things right now."

"You don't seem too upset about the change you're going to have to go through in your diet though."  
I gave her a weak smile. "Because I'm not all that upset."  
"Oh Steph. I know it's probably not the right time, but I'm so excited for you. I know you'll be a great mom, and I'll be here to help you at all if you ever need it."

"Thanks Mary Lou. I don't know what I would have done today without you."

We hugged and then she grabbed my hand to walk down the pier.

"How about we go see the black light parade their having down at the end? It'll be fun and we can get some glow sticks. The kids would love if I brought them some home."

I agreed and we started to make our way towards the parade. People around us were wearing glow sticks all over their bodies and the boardwalk lights were getting dimmer the closer to the parade we got.

"This looks so cool Steph! Let's go to that vendor and get us some glow stick necklaces!"

Mary Lou picked out some green and blue ones for her kids, and we got some pink ones for ourselves.

"Let's go find a spot to sit down, my feet are killing me!" Mary Lou said.

"Alright, let's go sit under that light pole."  
We'd been sitting and watching all the people dancing around nearly naked with glowing body paint when my stomach started to act up. I refused to throw up on the bench like some drunk college girl that actually had thrown up beside me. I covered my mouth with my hand and ran off in the opposite direction looking for a restroom. I would have told Mary Lou I'd be right back but I might have thrown up on her.

I'd been in the bathroom for ten minutes when I'd finished washing my face. I hoped Mary Lou wasn't freaking out too much. I walked back to the bench we'd been sitting at and she was gone!I knew she was probably freaking out like I'd hope she wouldn't have been. I set out to look for her and started weaving my way in and out of the bars looking for her.

I'd walked into my seventh bar whenever I was starting to feel hopeless. I really wish I would have brought my purse out of the car so I could call her. There was no sight of her and I sighed walking out to look in the t-shirt stand across the bar next. But there was a group of drunken frat looking guys blocking the door and I felt kind of nervous to leave.

"Excuse me guys." They obviously hadn't heard me. The tallest one had blonde hair and wasn't wearing a shirt. His muscles were disgustingly huge and he smelt like tequila.

"Hey lady, you wanting to get through?"  
Thank God, "Yes, could you all please get out of the doorway."  
A short dark haired guy snorted at me. "Stay and drink with us sexy."

"No thanks. Now can you move your asses so I can go?" My patience really was wearing thin.

"Not until you take a shot with us."  
"Are you kidding me, get the hell out of the way." I shoved the short one and the tall blonde grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"Calm down woman. We just want to have some fun, but if you want to leave let us walk you out."  
Finally I was getting somewhere with these assholes.

"Alright, but hurry up I don't want to stay here anymore and you guys are taking forever to let me out."  
We walked out of the door and the blonde still hadn't let go of my arm.

"Hey back off already, let my arm go." His grip just got tighter.

"Hey let me go!"  
"Calm yourself lady, let's go for a walk." He had a scary smile on his face.

_Shit_.

"Actually my friend is supposed to meet me right here, so I think I'll wait."

"No I insist. Let's go for a walk."  
He started dragging me toward the alley by the bar, the dark alley that wasn't lit up because of the black light parade.

"Hey buddy, just let me the fuck go. I don't have time for you and your little games. Your drunk off your ass and it's pissing me off."  
He shoved my back against the wall.

"What are you going to do about it babe?"

He shoved his mouth onto mine and tried to stick his tongue in my mouth. I bit it and made him curse.

"Stupid bitch!"

The hairs on my neck stood up and my heart skipped a beat. It wasn't because of the drunken idiot either. Ranger was here.

"Last I checked she's my Babe."  
Ranger grabbed the guy by the throat and slammed him on the wall beside me. I sunk to my knees and tried to catch my breath. Ranger was throwing his fists into the guy's stomach and blood was running out of his mouth.

"Ranger, stop." My voice was barely above a whisper but I knew he heard me. He dropped his human punching bag to the ground and put his hand to my face.

"Can you stand up Babe?"

I nodded my head and stood up. My knees still felt a little weak. Ranger must have known because he picked me up and started to carry me.

"Where are we going?"  
"I'm taking you home to Rex, and then we're going to have a long conversation about what happened earlier today. And then we're going to talk about how you turned off your GPS."  
"I didn't want you to find me."  
"Well now I'm sure you're glad I did."  
I nodded my head and rested it on his shoulder. He smelt like his Bvlgari and I couldn't help it when I kissed his neck. I was still hurting from what he had said about our tiny dot but I knew that I loved him. I'd accepted that I wouldn't be able to just brush off my love for him either.

"Babe, are you ok?"  
"I don't know."  
"Did he hurt you? Is the baby alright? Are you hungry? Do you feel sick?"

"Ranger calm down. No he didn't hurt me. I guess tiny dot is ok. I'm not hungry. And I don't feel that sick." He was really freaking out? I only though Ranger did cool, calm, and collected.

"Tiny dot?" I could feel a smile on his face.

"Yea, the baby was a tiny dot on the ultra sound."  
"Babe, I'm going to make this right. I promise you."

I took a deep breath and decided to believe him. We were out in a parking lot, and I was anxious to get home and talk about everything that had happened today.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own anything. Please review and let me know how you like this chapter! It took me a while to figure out how I wanted it to play out. Thanks for reading! :)

* * *

Rpov

I had wanted to kill that drunken blonde idiot. But Steph's voice had shaken me out of it. She had looked so tired, and even now with her sleeping in the passenger seat beside me, she still looked completely wiped out of energy. I looked down to her stomach and thought of my child growing inside of her. I needed to pull my focus back on the road and on driving.

I had already called Tank and had him pull the other men off of the search. I'd called Mary Lou myself and had let her know that Steph was safe and sound. She hadn't been too happy when I'd sent her to be driven home with Rico after we'd made it to the boardwalk.

I pulled up to Steph's apartment and turned off the car. I walked over to the passenger door, opened it, and pulled my Babe in my arms. She didn't stir and was still asleep whenever I put her down on her bed and covered her up.

I wanted to talk to her, but I'd let her sleep a while longer while I made some calls. I dialed Rangeman's number and waited two rings before I got an answer.

"Tank, have you heard anything from our contacts about Daniels yet? He should be surfacing any day now and I want to be the first to know it."  
"No boss man. I'm going to meet up with Rico tonight and we're going to set up surveillance on the neighborhood where he makes the drops."  
"Ok. Call me if anything goes wrong."

I hung up and went to check and make sure everything was locked. I wouldn't be allowing Stephanie to stay here much longer due to the damn fire escape. No matter how many times I told her it was unsafe, and how many times she'd actually experienced how unsafe it was, she refused to move.

I opened the bedroom door and Stephanie was sitting up in bed. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and she was staring down at the blankets.

"Babe?"

She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile.

"Hey."  
"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just kind of shaken up."  
"The guy on the boardwalk?"  
She shook her head and I know that she had meant the pregnancy.

"Well, are you ready to talk now Babe?"  
"If you are."  
She looked like she was scared again. Scared of me, and what I was going to say. I took a deep breath and carefully chose my words.

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted in my office today. I would like to blame it on shock, but in reality it was just my own stupidity."

I looked at her and waited for her to say something, but she just sat there staring at me. I wasn't great at talking but I knew what needed to be said so I decided now was the time to get it all out. Well time to get most of it out.

"I want you to know that you aren't going to be by yourself in this. I'll be here for whatever you need me for. I'm going to stay with you, and make sure that you're comfortable. If you want me to go to the doctor visits, I'll be there. If you want me to come along when you pick out the furniture for the nursery, I'll be there. If you want me to be included when you pick out the name, I'd really love to. I've never given you any sign that I'm here to stay, but I'll tell you now. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere."  
I had to laugh when I finished. She just had this look of complete awe on her face. I think it's the first time I've ever really rendered Stephanie Bombshell Plum completely speechless and nearly catatonic.

I let the time pass for a few minutes and stood my ground. It was Steph who would be having to come to me. She had to show me she wanted what I was offering.

"I didn't think about a nursery. I don't have a room for the baby."  
Out of all of what I'd just said her worries were on a baby room.

"I've got it taken care of Babe. You just need to pick the colors and the furniture."  
"No Ranger, I've got to do it. I'm the pregnant one."  
"Low blow. _We're_ pregnant. I told you, I'm in this just as much as you are. If you want me to be…."

Spov

All I could do was stare at Ranger, open mouthed. Everything he had said to me sounded like I was in a dream, or even my own fairy tale. The Cuban God wanted to hold my hand through doctor's visits and help me pick out a baby name?

The world must be caving in. The sky must be falling. I never thought I would live to see the day that Ranger wanted to stand by my side and promise to stick around.

I looked into his eyes one more time, and for the first time in a long time he wasn't shielding anything from me.

"Alright Ranger, you can chauffer me around to the doctor and help me pick out a crib. But I don't know how you plan on taking care of a baby room. Unless you plan on knocking some walls down."

He laughed at me for a second time.

"Oh I won't be knocking down walls."  
"Then what's your plan Batman?"  
"I'm finding you a house."  
"WHAT! No you are not! I like my apartment, and Rex doesn't like change."

_Ok maybe Rex doesn't give a rat's ass, but I wasn't going to let the man buy me a house!_

"Babe, Daniels is still out there. You're carrying MY child. Even if you weren't pregnant right now, I wouldn't be taking any more chances. That fire escape has seen enough of your demise. We'll look at some of the houses online, and you can pick one. RangeMan owns several around the area as safehouses."  
Shit. I didn't want to move. And my bank account didn't want to move either. We were comfortable enough in this cozy small apartment, and a new house would take way too much money to keep up with.

"And don't worry about expenses. It's fully furnished and paid for. I'll just sign the deed over to you and all you have to worry about is the electric bill."  
Batman is reading my mind again. Damn it. He sure was making it hard to find excuses out of this.

"Babe, it's not just you anymore. You've got to think about another life now. You know this apartment isn't safe."  
I knew he was right. I just hated to lose my independence. I didn't want people knowing that my baby daddy gave me a house. People might see it as hush money about him not wanting to marry me. Great, now I'll have a bastard child and still end up in a different stereotype that I'd been trying to avoid.

But I knew deep down I didn't care. I'd spent the better part of the day having silent conversations with the tiny dot. And even now, I was rubbing my stomach wanting to ask if he/she was up for moving into a new home.

"I'll agree to move into the new house on one condition."  
"And what exactly would that be Babe?"  
"You still let me work."  
His face went dark and he looked like he would be happier with anything but me working right now.

"I don't mean bringing in skips. Let me help out at RangeMan or something. I'll die from boredom if I just sit around doing nothing. And RangeMan will be safer than another desk job. There's no way Daniels could get to me there."  
"Well I guess you've got yourself a deal."

I was so happy he had agreed that I couldn't sit still. I got up out of bed and walked around in circles. He was laughing at me again and reached out for my arm. He got a hold of me and pulled me down into his lap kissing my neck and making me moan.

"Babe, we've still got one more thing to talk about…."  
I racked my brain trying to figure out what we'd left out. Nothing was coming to mind.

"And what exactly would that be?"  
"You've got to figure out when and how to tell your parents."  
My stomach dropped to the floor. I'd been in so much shock, and a little joy, over Ranger saying he wanted to stick around that I'd completely forgotten about the rest of the world. I hadn't spoken to my mother since the other day. I'd made sure to turn my cell phone off to avoid it even.

"Yea I guess I should tell them. Might as well give my mother another reason to be a drunk and throw insults at me."  
He tilted his head and didn't look too pleased.

"What do you mean throwing insults at you?"  
"Joe told her that we ran off and got married. She always saw me as the future Mrs. Morelli. So as you can imagine, the gossip of her daughter running off with another man hasn't really made her the proudest mother."

"And when did Morelli get the chance to tell your mother all these things?"  
"According to my grandmother he just stopped by one day and chatted her up for a while."

"You really should let me take care of that problem for you." His eyes had gone dark.

"What problem? People chatting my mother up with my sins, or the jackass of an ex-boyfriend that I have?"  
"Both if you want."

"No, I'll be ok. Grandma Mazur gets a kick out of me living in sin. And where would the Burg be without me to provide the entertainment?"  
"You're not living in sin Stephanie."  
I laughed. "Whatever you say Batman."  
The look on his face cut my laugh short and I just looked into his eyes not knowing what to say. He still had me on his lap and I could feel him getting hard against me. I leaned over to kiss him but he stopped me.

"You're not living in sin. This baby isn't going to have a mother that is the source of the town's entertainment. It's not going to have a mother who has an ex that constantly butts into her life and tries to ruin the good things if it doesn't involve him. And it's certainly not going to have a mother whose own mother insults her and refuses to see how amazing she is. If you can't fix these problems, then I will. I'll have every employee from Rangeman make sure of it when it comes to the town and Morelli. And we'll be having the talk with your mother together. I don't want you to think that you're less than this bullshit town. You're far above it."

I sighed. Batman against the world when it came to me and his child. The thought of his child made me sigh again. I was really worried that I'd not be good enough. I wanted the best for the tiny dot, but I was always getting myself into one thing or another that never ended too well. One thing was for sure though, I'd never end up like my mother did.

"Alright Ranger, I'll call my dad and tell him we'll be over on Sunday. He'd already planned on seeing me anyways."

"Good girl, now come here and give me that kiss I interrupted."  
I leaned over again and put my mouth on his. I was worried that Ranger would walk away when he found out about the baby. When he told me he wouldn't, I was worried he was going to treat me like something fragile. But now he was kissing me and pulling me down with a force that was sending shivers down my spine.

"Ranger, hurry up and take your clothes off."  
"Easy mi mujer, I'll get there eventually."

Mi mujer? I know I should probably understand a little bit of Spanish but truth be told, Mary Lou and I always snuck off from school during that class. I didn't care if I didn't understand it, it sounded hot coming out of his mouth.

I went to pull my shirt off but he caught my wrists above my head and pulled the shirt off while still holding me in place. I tried to pull my arms down but he just gave me a dark smile and held firm.

"I have a lot planned for tonight Babe. I've been waiting for as long as I could, trying to give you time to sort things out. Would you say they were officially sorted?"  
He was grinding his hips into mine and I was moaning. I wanted him so badly and he was teasing me!

"Yes Ranger! Things are sorted."  
He laughed and then stuck his hand around my back to unhook my bra. He took it off effortlessly, and a tiny part of me got jealous thinking of why he could do it so easily and the practice he must have had.

I didn't have much more time to think of the other practice he'd had because in a few seconds he'd pulled his pants down and was inside of me.

"Sorry Babe, but I just couldn't wait any longer."  
"Mmm."  
That night we'd stayed up until dawn, filling our need for each other and I didn't want it to end. But I was tired beyond belief and needed sleep. Ranger had already begun to lightly snore next to me and I stifled a giggle.

Ranger must be extremely comfortable around me to sleep deeply enough to snore. It was kind of sweet, but also funny. Big Cuban tough man, snoring. Jeez, the night had been long. I really needed sleep, so I moved Ranger's arm over and snuggled up next to him.

Rpov

I had woken up an hour later and Steph was dead asleep next to me. I needed to call Tank and let him know I wasn't going to be heading into work for the next few days. She needed me, even if she wouldn't admit it. The pregnancy had thrown her for a loop and I didn't like the thought of her sitting here alone scaring herself over it.

I pushed some curls out of her face and put my hand on her cheek. I'd been with actresses, models, and my fair share of other women. But none of them held a torch compared to my Babe. She wasn't what others would probably consider the most beautiful, but to me she was gorgeous. Maybe it was her personality and attitude towards everything that made her that way to me.

She never gave up. Even when we'd first met and the whole town had been buzzing about Stephanie Plum trying to give up the lingerie retail business to become a bounty hunter, I knew that this was a woman to be reckoned with. You don't meet a girl like that every day. One that would give her all to do what she'd set her mind to. She didn't want to fit into the mold of the Burg and wanted more for herself. This baby was going to have a hell of a mother.

I looked down and put my hand on her stomach. I'd thought she had just been gaining a pound or two from the extra donuts I knew she liked to have. But now I could tell it was the start of a baby bump. Something about her getting bigger with my child really turned me on. She was going to look great pregnant. And I knew if she wanted ice cream and mashed potatoes at two in the morning I'd have no problem waking up to get it for her.

This wasn't just any woman. She was my woman. Mi mujer. And I wasn't going to let my job screw this up any longer. I had found myself daydreaming of us having a home together and me coming home to her every day. I even thought about what it would be like to have other children with her.

These thoughts I were thinking of were typically the thoughts of a married man. Then it hit me, I wanted to marry Stephanie Plum and make her Stephanie Manoso. I knew she hated the thought of the housewife life. But I'd make sure she'd never have to get tied down with the stereotype. We'd travel the world, and I'd give her the world.

I'd seen enough of Morelli treating her like less than what she was worth. Enough of the police department placing bets on her. Even her own mother had started to grate my nerves. I'd settle all of this first, and then I'd propose. But we were going to have to get through Sunday dinner with her family.

The thought of it made me tired all over again and I fixed myself back down next to my Babe. I pulled her in closer to me and fell back to sleep


	14. Chapter 14

So I've been so busy in school with finals that I haven't had hardly any spare time to write! I'm sorry that it took so long to get something out. I still have a lot going on but I should have another chapter out later this week. Thanks so much for all of the great reviews! I don't own anything! And I'm sorry about the chapter being shorter than usual.

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Spov

The next few days had been too short. Ranger had actually taken time off to be with me. It was a nice surprise. We hadn't gotten much accomplished because every time we came up for air one or the other would pull back down again. I hadn't minded. My body ached in a good way and I couldn't help but smiling to myself, until I remembered what day it was.

"Ranger, we have dinner at my parent's tonight."  
He just nodded at me, giving nothing away about how he really felt about telling my parent's I was pregnant with his child.

"My mom's going to lose it. I already told my father on the phone to get rid of the alcohol but she'll probably find another way to get more. Grandma Mazur will most likely want to party and get pregnant herself somehow. My dad probably won't say much of anything, like usual."

I was yammering on. When I got nervous I was your all-star chatter box.

"It'll be ok. If it gets too much for you we can just leave. I'm not much of a meet your parents kind of guy anyways."  
I looked at him and he was still giving nothing away. It really frustrated me sometimes. Especially since he could read me like an open book.

"Whatever you say Batman."  
I got up and made my way to the shower. I'd agreed that we'd only be staying here until he could clear out the safe house and baby proof it. I'd give it less than a few days left in my own apartment.

"Ranger, are you sure I can't just keep my apartment on the backburner? You know, as a getaway?"  
"Still worried about your independence?"  
I hated the thought of turning into a stay at home mom. I knew I would never be one, but knowing that I no longer had my own apartment made me somewhat panicked.

"No, just would miss the seventies feel of the bathroom is all."

He smiled at me and walked up behind me.

"We could redecorate your new house any way that you want."

I kissed him quickly on the cheek and jumped up to start the shower. Ranger really wasn't one for small endearments. And quick pecks on the cheek seemed too much of an emotional aspect for him to like.

I finished my shower and stood staring at myself in the foggy mirror. I only wiped away enough to see my stomach reflected and I was feeling dizzy. Sure enough there was starting to be a tiny bump. And it wasn't my usual too many donuts bump. It was the tiny dot getting ready to make its way into the world.

The thought of it wasn't as terrifying anymore. Ranger had spent the past few days telling me that everything would be fine and he'd be there for me. Funny how everyone else could say it, but his words were the only ones that rang true.

"Hey Ranger? I'm going to need to go out shopping today. Is it ok if I just pick up Lula and leave Rico out of it?"  
He walked into the bathroom and stared at me.

"Babe, what makes you even think that is remotely ok?"  
"Well Daniels hasn't popped up, for all we know there was a drug deal gone bad and his body is being terrorized by desert wildlife, and honestly no one wants to even approach Lula when she's in spandex so I should be ok standing next to her."  
"Daniels is still out there. He isn't dead. And even if someone were to tell me he was, I wouldn't believe it until I saw his body or I killed him myself."  
I gulped. Ranger wasn't the same man he had been the past three days. I knew that the change from easy going to business was coming, but I'd been hoping for at least another day.

"Alright Rico can come I guess. But I don't think he's going to enjoy helping me find clothes for when I get bigger."

"He's paid well enough to enjoy you making him try on the clothes himself."  
I giggled at the thought and pulled on a tshirt. The jeans were another matter all together. I could make them zip about halfway up but then they got tricky.

"You need to go to the maternity store where they have the elastic banding."  
I don't know how it happened so suddenly but I knew I wasn't proud of it.

Ranger sat there looking stunned, and I was taking deep breaths. I'd thrown my hair brush at him and when he caught it I launched the container of gel and knocked him right in between the eyes.

"Ranger I'm sorry!" I couldn't rein in the laughter though. The humor in the situation was just too much. And at the same time I was wanting to cry.

"It's ok. No more talk about elastics though. I want to keep my head intact."  
"I really am sorry. You said elastic waist bands and I started thinking about Grandma Mazur and old ladies, then fat ladies, and then I thought you were calling me fat."  
"Hormones are really gonna be a bitch with you aren't they?"  
"Most likely. I was on a roller coaster of emotions and there was no stopping. I'm sorry."  
Ranger laughed. A full belly laugh none the less. He was naked under my bed sheets, looking sexy as hell, and laughing at me and my hormones.

"Maybe you should be the pregnant one! See how funny it is then!"  
"Babe I didn't mean it as laughing at you. Just at how serious you had been throwing your brush at me then laughing when you hit me in the head with the gel."  
I didn't know how to take that so I just ignored it.

"Well I'm leaving here soon. Do you have work today?"  
He nodded his head and started to get dressed himself. All black of course.

"I'm going to take off. I've got a lot to catch up on and I called Tank to send Rico over whenever you were in the shower. He should be here in fifteen minutes, so I want you to stay in the apartment until you see him through the peep hole. Do you understand me?"  
"Jeez, yes. No need to be so bossy."  
He got a dark look in his eyes. "You didn't mind me being bossy last night."  
My heartbeat hiked up and I tried my best to seem cool. Ranger was always talented at getting me hot and bothered.

"Well then I'm off. Behave yourself today Babe."

And with that he kissed me deeply and left out of the front door.

The apartment felt completely lonely without him. I mean, he was a big man and all, took up quite a bit of space, but emotionally….I was missing him the moment he stepped out of the door.

I didn't want to think too much longer about it and decided to go and feed Rex. He had heard Ranger leave and was peeking out of his soup can.

"Hey there Rex. What sounds good for breakfast? Ranger is gone so we don't have to eat too much rabbit food."  
I'd been dieting better since my doctors appointment, and I wanted to be able to tell her that I'd been sticking to it at my next appointment in a few days. But this morning I was on a sugar crash and needed something to pick me up fast.

I tossed a grape and some nuts of Ranger's into Rex's cage and pulled out the milk. I was going to enjoy myself a big fat bowl of sugar packed cereal for breakfast.

Just as I was grabbing a spoon I heard a loud knock on the door.

_Rico is here early_.

I thought I would have at least ten more minutes to my cereal but I guessed wrong. Rico was going to have to get comfortable until I finished.

I walked over to the door and swung it wide open. Half expecting Rico to be standing there silently reading the paper or doing something that didn't involve talking.

So you can imagine my surprise whenever the door finished its swinging and I was face to face with the biggest asshole I've ever met.

Joe Morelli.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for all of the reviews! I don't own anything. And I'm going to be focusing mainly on Stephanie's pov in this chapter. I don't own anything! Please review and let me know what you think :)

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Spov

"Morelli."

I looked at him and he honestly looked like shit. His usual stubble didn't look sexy at all. It looked like a mess, along with his hair. It had even taken a moment for his eyes to settle.

"Are you drunk?"

"Why haven't you come to see me Cupcake?"

The nickname sent shivers down my spine, and not in a good way.

"Morelli, if you're drunk you need to leave. I told you before. We're done, and I don't want to see you if there is any way to avoid it at all."

He laughed in my face and pushed me to the side of the doorway walking in like he owned the place. He was wearing jeans that looked like they could use a wash and grey shirt that looked stained beyond saving.

"Why've you been hiding from me Cupcake?"  
I hadn't really been hiding, just avoiding. I wasn't sure I could stand to look at him, and what do you know, I was right. Everything I'd gone through in Texas came rushing back to me, and most of it was due to Joe Morelli. He was scum when we played choo choo and he was scum now.

"Do you have any idea what happened to me Morelli?"  
He got very serious in an instant.

"I told you I had nothing to do with anything. Maybe you shouldn't have run off with Ranger to begin with!"  
I saw red, and it was taking everything in me not to charge him with fists flying.

"I was kidnapped you idiot! By some psycho who still wants me dead! And all because you couldn't keep your damn mouth shut when Teri had her mouth on you!"

"I told you I had nothing to do with anything! And the only reason I was letting Teri get some was because you ran off with HIM!"

There it was. He'd finally admitted it. What I'd secretly knew all along. He'd slept with Teri, and it probably wasn't the first time during our dysfunctional relationship.

"You're a complete ass Joe. Now I want you to turn around and walk back out that door. You're nothing to me."

He grabbed my arm and seemed to slightly come out of his drunken stupor.

"Cupcake, you don't mean that. We're good together."

"Yea, in bed. And that's not enough to keep something going. I told you all of this before I left. And now you have the balls to come in here like you did nothing wrong. I could have died."

"You're fine now aren't you! And just like before you're kicking me to the curb so you can sleep with that Cuban piece of sh-"

"DO NOT CALL HIM ANYTHING! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"

"You're so fast to defend him! You are with him aren't you!"

"No Morelli I'm not!"

"That's why you ran off to Texas, to be with him. I'm glad Daniels ruined it for both of you!"

I couldn't fucking believe him. He was trying to justify himself! And he only confirmed what RangeMan already knew. Joe was the rat. And he could be a dead man with a few words spoken to Ranger. But I couldn't do that to Morelli. As much as I hated the thought of him right now, I couldn't allow someone to kill him.

"Do you know what Daniels wants to do to me?"  
He waved his hand in the air and rolled his eyes. He looked like he could give a shit less, or that he didn't believe me.

"He wants to take me with him on his runs back and forth from Mexico. He told me he wants to RAPE me and then KILL me! He would have in Texas if Ranger hadn't of found me!"  
"He wouldn't have Steph! You're being over dramatic! You look fine to me right now!"  
Things were getting really heated. My neighbors were opening their doors and I could hear security chains clinking while they tried to catch the rest of our screaming match.

"What the hell is wrong with you Joe?!"  
"What's wrong with you?! You are the one who ran off to cheat on me with Ranger!"  
I couldn't take it any longer. My emotions were through the roof and the lamp was unplugged and closest. I picked it up off of the coffee table and hurled it at Morelli's big ugly face. He ducked of course, and I cursed that he wasn't in a complete drunken state so that I would have been able to hit him.

"I didn't cheat on you because we weren't together! We broke up!"  
"How was I supposed to know! You always come back to me! That's what you were supposed to do after you left Texas, but you've been here letting HIM shack up!"  
"I almost didn't come back from Texas! You're such an ignorant worthless piece of shit! You almost had me killed! He wanted to kill me! And it wasn't only me that would have died! You almost killed an innocent life!"  
_SHIT!_

I couldn't believe I'd let that slip! I was just so infuriated! I was hoping against hope that Morelli was too drunk to catch on.

"What do you mean an innocent life?"  
I didn't say a word. I was going to plead the fifth until Rico or help came.

Where the hell was Rico? Morelli was busy trying to settle his breathing and when I stole a glance at the microwave clock I'd seen that Rico was officially ten minutes late.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN STEPH!"  
I contemplated running to the bathroom and slamming the door shut and using my body to keep it that way. But Joe was much stronger and I didn't want to risk my tiny dot.

"Nothing Morelli. It's time for you to leave." I was making sure to keep my voice as calm as possible and hoping that it would keep the situation calm.

I knew it wouldn't work. The temperature seemed like it had gone up with our temper and anger inside of the apartment.

"Please, Joe. Just go."  
"I'm not leaving until you give me an answer Cupcake." His voice had gone dark and his cop face was in place. I was really regretting not checking the peep hole before opening my door.

"Well you're not going to get one. Rico is almost here. If he finds you it won't end pretty. He's huge, and you've probably been drunk for more than a couple days now."  
"You're going to give me an answer, or I swear I'll find my way back to you and stick around until I get it."  
I was at a loss.

"And besides, if you tell me, I'll leave Cupcake."  
It seemed like a good deal. I just wanted him gone. And it was going to get around to him anyways. Might as well beat the grapevine to the punch.

"I'm pregnant Joe."  
At that moment time stood still. Recognition registered in his eyes and he looked like he might be sick.

"Now leave my apartment."  
"No."  
"What do you mean no? You said you would go, now leave!"  
"You're pregnant with my child. I'm not leaving. This gives me the right to you now."  
"What the fuck do you mean right to me?! You're crazy!"  
He was rubbing his head and I was starting to panic. He was really sounding crazy and he really did smell like he'd been bathing in whiskey.

"Joe, come on. Leave. Rico is on his way up."

It was a lie but I didn't know what else to say.

"You're pregnant with my child. I can stay if I want to."  
And with this pregnancy came the roller coaster of emotions. I had gone from scared to pissed with one sentence.

"Get out Joe! NOW!"  
"No." He was sounding so calm it was unnerving.

"GO!"  
"No."  
"IT'S NOT EVEN YOU'RE BABY!"  
He took a step back from me and took a deep breath.

"You're lying cupcake. It's mine."  
"No it's not Morelli! You're sterile! I could never get pregnant with you and now I'm pregnant, and it's not because I slept with you. I'm sure you're more than familiar with how women get pregnant. They should have taught it to you not long after you played "choo choo" with me. It's not your baby now leave or I'll-"  
BAM!

My head snapped back with such a force that I fell on my ass. Pain snaked across my face and down my neck. I tasted blood on my lip and realized with shock that Joe had just slapped me.

I put my hand to my lip and looked at him.

"You worthless slut! You got knocked up on purpose by him! WHY?!"  
My heart was wanting to leap out of my chest. I was pushing myself towards the kitchen and reaching for the counter to pull myself up. The cookie jar was only a few feet away.

"TELL ME STEPHANIE!"  
"I didn't do it on purpose Joe."  
"LIAR!"  
His eyes were burning into me and his breathing was a lot faster than it should be. He kept flexing his arms and fisting his hands. Seconds seemed like hours.

"It's time to go Joe. Rico is here. I told you he's on his way up."  
"More lies."  
"The neighbors have been hearing us scream. They've probably already called the cops and might even be coming over with their guns to check up on me."  
"I am the cops. And I locked the door behind me. It's just you and me Cupcake. Well you, me, and my baby."  
He was so fucking twisted. I told him it wasn't his child but he couldn't grasp the fact. I was standing now and taking small steps backwards towards the cookie jar. Two more steps and I'd have it.

"I'd stop moving now if I were you."  
His voice was so cold. I knew he was about to leap out at me again. He was in the same stance he was in whenever he was getting ready to take off to chase the bad guys. Except I'm not the bad guy, and he's lost it.

"I'm just trying to get a tissue to wipe my mouth."  
"Bullshit."  
I couldn't help it and panic took over. I leaped for the cookie jar and let out a blood curdling scream whenever I felt him yank my hair to pull me back. Too late for him. I had the gun.

I aimed it at his chest with tears in my eyes.

"Leave now or I swear to God I'll shoot you!"  
He was laughing when I heard the door get kicked in. Rico looked huge and had another muscle man behind him. They swooped down on Morelli and had him pinned to the ground in a split second. He was throwing cuss words and spit into their faces but they ignored it.

After they had him cuffed and out in the hall Rico came back to check on me. I couldn't stop shaking and still had my finger on the trigger. Rico didn't say a word but put a hand on my shoulder and reached the other hand out. I took it as a signal to hand over my gun.

"Where were you?" My voice shook along with the rest of my body.

"Boss man had us held up."

Rico's voice was deep and gruff. It matched him perfectly.

"Where is Ranger? I know you probably called him already."  
"He's otherwise occupied. Wants me to guard you today."  
"What do you mean otherwise occupied!" Why wasn't Ranger coming?

And then I realized once again, Ranger wasn't the committed emotional relationship type. He had no duty to me. My heart sank at the thought.

"Do you want someone to look at your lip?" Rico had a weird expression on his face.

"No, its fine."

"Are you ok?"  
He sure was being chatty. I looked up at him and gave him a questioning look.

"It's just that, umm, if you got knocked around, like you look like you have, umm maybe you should go check if the baby is ok."  
My jaw dropped. How did Rico already know I was pregnant?  
"He's out there cursing you and your baby. Spitting mad. Michael is taking him out to the SUV to haul him to the police department. Are you going to file assault charges?"  
I thought hard about it and shook my head. Morelli was nothing to me, and the only way to keep it that way was to not even get involved in his life anymore.

"I have a doctor's appointment in a few days. I'll bring it up to her to check everything out. He only hit me in the face so everything should be fine."  
I was rubbing my stomach and was trying to calm myself, and maybe the baby. If the baby could even feel worry right now? I needed to do some homework and read those pamphlets the doctor had given me.

"Did Ranger say when he would be able to come?"  
Rico had gone back to being silent and shook his head.

Well so be it. I wanted my independence and now I have it. I didn't need a man to come running to check on me every time something happened.

But it still hurt that Ranger hadn't given enough time to come check on me. He knew how I felt about Morelli, and I'm sure Rico had told him that it wasn't a happy meeting between us two.

Rpov

I shut my phone and cursed out loud. Michael was on his way back to Rangeman and couldn't get here fast enough.

Only one thing was for certain.

Joe Morelli was a dead man.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm so sorry for the delay in updates! I'm about to be graduating and I've been swamped busy! I hope you all are enjoying the story and I appreciate you all for reading and following! You're all the best! I don't own anything!

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Rpov

I was looking down at the worthless heap of man tied to a chair in front of me and a sudden calm came over me.

Morelli looked like shit, and he smelt worse. He'd passed out after hurling insults about Steph and the baby when I hit him.

Steph had told me she wanted me to leave Morelli alone. I'd respected her wishes. But Rico had phoned to say that she wasn't going to press charges. He'd laid his hands on her, and in a harmful way, yet she wasn't going to press charges?

My worst fear was that she still had feelings for him. I shook it out of my head knowing that she didn't. Yet, it was still lurking in the back of my mind.

I slapped Morelli to pull him out of it and wake him up. I knew it had worked when he muttered something that sounded like asshole.

"Morelli, in the past I've at least respected you enough to stay out of you relationship with Steph. But now you've crossed the line and I don't think you'll be surprised to hear me tell you that I have absolutely no respect left for you."

"Yea like I give a fuck about you at all."  
I ignored it and went on with what he was about to have to accept in his life.

"As you know, Steph is pregnant, with my child. And what you did is unforgiveable. Yet for some reason Steph isn't pressing charges."  
"Because she knows it should be MY child!"  
"That's a load of bullshit Morelli and you know it. The only good coming out of her not pressing charges is that I can make sure you are assigned to a new department very far away. How does Oregon sound?"  
He laughed, thinking it was a joke.

"I assure you this isn't some prank. I've already contacted your captain and he's agreed that you need to leave the force. You've shown up one too many times drunk and your work is getting sloppy. I expect you to have your shit packed and ready to leave by tomorrow. Your family can mail you whatever you cannot carry on a plane."  
I walked out of the interrogation room with enjoyment at the dumbfounded look on his face. I shut the door before giving him a chance to start screaming insults again.

Spov

To say that the first part of my day had started of shaky was a complete understatement. I felt like an earthquake had hit and demolished everything. But with Lula munching fried chicken beside me and trying like hell to get all my personal issues out of me I knew I couldn't get away from it all.

"Look, all I'm saying is, if it were me and Morelli had pulled shit like that, I would have popped one off at him!"  
Lula was dressed in neon spandex and her hair was half neon as well. We'd gotten a lot of looks in the mall.

"Lula, you always say that."  
"Because its true!"  
I couldn't help but laughing at her. I knew that what she said and what she did were two completely different things. Lula always was all bark but no bite. And it had gotten me into more than my fair share of situations.

"Well we've bought shoes and you tried on just about all the perfumes at the sample place. Now what?"  
She put a bare bone done and started to clack her nails against the booth table we were sitting at.

"I thought you said you had somewhere you needed to go. You tell me."

I really needed to get my start on baby shopping. And I had told myself that I would tell Lula before we even went in the mall, but I'd chickened out.

"Well I can always get it another time."

"Bullshit, you got me up and going. We better be getting what we came here for. Maybe I'll get a chocolate shake to go, you know, to keep up my energy while we're shopping."

I knew she wouldn't give up easily, so I braced myself and let the words fall out of my mouth.

"Lula the store I've got to go to isn't really your scene right now."  
Her eyes got big. "White girl I know you didn't just say that to me!"  
I shook my head and just gave it away.

"Lula I've got to go to the maternity store."  
She laughed and threw a napkin down, "Valerie is pregnant AGAIN!? That girl is crazy!"  
I put my head down and banged it against the table, then regretted it because I was still having a migraine from Joe earlier.

"No Lula, it's for me."  
Her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets and I'm glad she didn't have a chicken bone in her mouth because she might have choked.

A whole minute passed by and I was starting to worry.

"You're breathing right Lula?"  
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!"  
She had screamed so loudly that employees were even staring at us.

"Lula, keep it down! Yeesh!"  
She looked at me and I had nothing left to say. I already knew her next question before she asked.

"Please don't tell me it's the cop's. Is it?"  
I shook my head and let the information sink in. I could tell that the gears were turning in her head. She knew of only one other man in my life that could have resulted in me being pregnant.

"The Cuban sex god knocked you up?!"  
"Lula! What did I say about the screaming!"  
"I'm sorry girl! It's just such a shock!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Lula had the funniest look on her face, and I was so stressed that I could only laugh, or break down crying.

"Please don't make too much of a big deal out of it. It's still really new to me too."  
Lula got very serious all of a sudden.

"You know you're my white girl. I'm going to make you the most fabulous sexy pregnant woman! And don't even think that heels are out of the question! They do it on the Hollywood carpet all the time!"  
I got anxious thinking of Lula trying to take over my wardrobe.

"Probably we should get going. You're scaring the workers, and you're chicken is making me feel nauseous."  
Lula laughed and got up to throw her trash away, and next thing we were out the door and walking down to go to the pregnant mom store. I shivered and wanted to just get everything over with.

Two hours later we were leaving the mall, weighted down with bags from every department store that Lula could find stretchy animal print clothing in.

I'd walked into the maternity store only to turn around and walk back out. No amount of pushing by Lula could get me back inside. The store had literally scared me. I knew I was pregnant but actually walking into it had brought it home.

I waved goodbye to Lula and pulled out my phone to have Rico pick me up at the entrance. He was there in barely a minute and we rode back to my apartment in silence.

Rico made sure to walk me to the door and check the apartment before letting me inside.

"I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

The statement surprised me.

"Oh yea sure Rico, go on ahead. No need to even ask." I wasn't even trying to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

He nodded his head at me and I sighed. This meant that Ranger wasn't going to be coming home, well maybe not home, but he wouldn't be coming over tonight.

I left Rico to it and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. My head was killing me and spending the whole day with Lula can really wear a girl out.

I finished washing my hair and stepped out to grab a towel and wrap it around myself. I turned back and looked at the shower, remembering the first time Ranger had seen me naked and handcuffed. It wasn't as kinky as it sounded when you knew the circumstances.

I went about brushing my teeth and combing out the tangles out of my hair. The reflection in the mirror staring back at me looked like a complete stranger. The smallest evidence of a baby bump was even more foreign.

I rubbed my stomach and started thinking of the future. It was going to be the scariest thing I'd ever do. Even worse than the time Mary Lou and I had ridden the roller coaster on the boardwalk. As scary as it was, I wasn't completely without courage. I knew that when my tiny dot came into the world things were going to change, but my independence wasn't going to change with it. I'd be strong and do everything I needed to for the baby and myself.

I stopped giving the future much thought and focused on the now. I was tired and cranky. My bed was calling my name and I had a long day tomorrow. And a doctor's appointment on top of that. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and dreamed of babies.

Rpov

I rubbed a knot that was forming behind my shoulders and cracked my neck. I'd been at the computer for hours working on the paperwork to get Morelli transferred to some shit town police department in Oregon.

I'd rather just dump him off at the airport, but Steph had told me she'd rather me just have Morelli completely out of her life no strings pulling him back, and if I didn't tie up the loose ends he'd find his way back here with some shit excuse.

"Hey boss man. Are you finishing up the paperwork?"  
Tank was standing in the doorway.

"Yea. Just a few more things and I'll be finished."  
I looked at the clock and saw that it was well past midnight. I had wanted to go home to my Babe but this wasn't going to get finished if I didn't do it now.

"I'm surprised you didn't go see Bombshell."  
I gave Tank an ugly look.

"I was needed here Tank. I had to get all of this together and going so that something like this wouldn't happen again in the future with him."  
"But she probably needed you."

"She's a grown woman Tank. You've heard Steph say she was independent more than once."

Tank was silent for a reply and I pulled my sight away from the computer and to him.

"Is that it Tank?"  
"She's pregnant with your kid, got attacked and popped in the face by her ex, and still has Daniels looking for her, yet you don't think she might have needed you today?"  
Tank had said it pretty forcefully. He only took that tone with me outside of the office, usually at my parent's house over football. Tank took football pretty seriously.

"Is that all you have to say to me Tank?"  
"No it's not. You need to wake up. Steph needs you. And she really needed you today, yet you failed to go and be there for her. I may have just found out that she's going to have your kid, but you've known. You can't keep using your job as an excuse to push people away. Start severing the ties with the government and start preparing yourself to be a father and a partner. She deserves better than what you're giving her right now. Have you gone with her to the doctor appointments? Have you offered? You may be able to give her financial security, but you already know that she doesn't care much for that. She needs emotional security from you."

"Tank…"  
"No Carlos. She is the best thing that's ever happened to you. You've actually started to act like you should act ever since you've been around her. Get your shit together, or be honest with her and tell her you can't do it. Don't lead her on, then basically abandon her when she needs you most. That's not being a man at all."  
I shoved myself up out of my seat and then slowed myself when I realized that Tank wasn't trying to insult me, but get me to open my eyes.

I sat back down and chuckled to myself.

"I don't think I'm being funny Carlos."  
"I know you're not. But how is it that you can call me on my shit and I don't even notice what I'm doing wrong?"  
"I think you're just too worried about everything else falling into place that you don't focus on the bigger picture."  
I mulled it over in my head and started to get angry with myself. I knew that Steph probably needed me, but I'd been blind to it, more worried about getting Morelli out of her life.

"Thanks Tank."  
"No problem. Now get your ass home and make sure she's holding up alright. And name that baby after me."  
"You're crazy if you think that will ever happen. The baby is going to be beautiful like my Babe, and not a big ugly thing like you."  
Tank laughed and landed one on my arm. I got up and went to grab my coat and keys, and heard my phone going off. I was secretly hoping it was Steph calling me full of fire and anger, so that I could already begin the long road of apology that I was going to put myself on.

I looked at the caller I.D and saw that it was my contact keeping tabs on Daniels.

"Ranger, I just thought you should know. Daniels was seen picking up his cargo in Mexico, and he was clocked passing the Texas borderline two days ago. I'm sorry this is getting to you so late. I'm having to lay low and just got my hands on a disposable cell phone."  
My gut dropped. Two days was more than enough time for Daniels to get here.

"Thanks for the heads up. Next time could you maybe try to be a little timelier?"  
I hung up before he could give me an excuse again and rushed out of the door. Tank was following me.

"Daniels could be here. Send three men to Steph's apartment and make sure they get there ASAP. Meet me in the weapons room in five minutes."  
"Yes sir."  
Tank was back to all business but I could tell he was worried about Steph.

I knew one thing. Daniels wasn't going to leave these state lines again, and certainly not with my Babe.

Spov

The banging was getting louder and louder. I heard Rico open the door and hushed voices. I had been pulled out of sleep and wasn't happy about it. I walked to my bedroom door and slung it open.

"What the hell is going on?!"

I heard no reply and pulled my hands away from rubbing my eyes. They were looking down and it was then that I felt a cool breeze. I had no pants on. I'd fallen asleep in one of Ranger's shirts only.

I slammed the door shut before the red could reach my face and went to grab some sweatpants. When I was properly covered I decided to be brave and go back out.

Rico was sitting at the kitchen table and there was another ape of a man trying to work my coffee maker.

"Sure help yourself."  
Everyone looked up at me and I was angry again.

"What are you all doing here! Who are you two?"  
The one who was stumped by my coffee machine spoke.

"I'm John, this is Robertson. Ranger sent us over. You're to stay here until we can assess the level of the situation and the boss gets here."  
More anger seeped in.

"Oh and you just expect to come in, fuck around with my coffee maker, give me some lame introduction, and tell me what to do? No explanation at all? Get Ranger's ass on the phone. I've had it with this shit!"

Rico let out what sounded like a laugh. If Rico could laugh.  
I was shocking myself with all the words I'd just let tumble out of my mouth. Rage was tearing me apart and if I had to hear any more bologna from these apes I was going to lose it. I wanted everything to just go back to being normal, if not for me, for my tiny dot.

Robertson handed me a phone and I already knew Ranger was on the other line.

"Ranger what the hell are you doing sending these men over here. Was Rico not enough? Am I going to live in the shadows of huge ape men for the rest of my days?!"

"Babe, calm down."  
"Don't Babe me! I've had a rough day and getting woken up to this isn't helping."  
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to keep you safe."  
I paused, my stomach was knotting and I was having an uneasy feeling.

"Safe from what Ranger?"  
"Daniels could possibly be in town. I'll be over there as soon as I check on things with Tank."

I hung up before he could say anything else and walked back into my bedroom. I knew sleep was out of the question but I wanted to shut myself away from the strange men that were sent to protect me in my kitchen. I curled up in a ball on the bed and pulled the blanket over my head. I rubbed my tiny dot and thought of all the possibilities that could happen now that Daniels was back.

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Please review and let me know what you think :) Or where you would like for this to go. thank you again!


	17. Chapter 17

Well I finally got a new chapter up! I don't own anything. Thank you all so much for reading. This is my first story and I'm really enjoying writing. Leave reviews and let me know what you think! :)

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Rpov

Steph had hung the phone up before I could fit another word in. I usually pride myself on keeping a lid on my emotions, but tonight they were all over the place. Fear for my Babe and our baby, anger at Morelli, anxiety at not having a handle on the situation with Daniels. I knew it wouldn't take me long, handling situations was what I did best, but until then I was worried.

I was making sweeps through the neighborhoods with Tank and had ordered other Rangemen to do the same. It'd been two hours and nothing had shown up. By the looks of it Daniels wasn't in town yet.

I took a deep breath and brought Tank back to Rangeman to drop him off before I went to Steph.

"Remember what I told you boss man."  
Tank was looking at me expectantly and I answered him with the nod of my head. I'd be at her apartment in fifteen minutes and it seemed too far away.

Spov

I had been tossing and turning in bed, trying to navigate the muddle of my life. Now I was standing by the window looking out at the burg. I saw a dark Porsche whip into an empty space and knew that Ranger was home.

_No, not home. _

I had been getting more and more comfortable with Ranger being around in my personal spaces. It was going to be hard to adjust when I moved to a house. Not because of all the extra space, but because the certain amount of space an extra person wouldn't be taking up.

I could still hear the ape men in the kitchen. I knew I had overreacted to them trying to make coffee. Before running to hide back in my room I'd gotten a good look at their faces. They all looked majorly sleep deprived, and I had a hunch it was because of me.

The afternoon I'd spent with Lula seemed like a lifetime away, everything seemed like it was a lifetime away since Ranger had told me Daniels could be here. Even though I knew it would only be a matter of time before he popped up, I was still anxious and worried.

I heard the door and knew it was from the ape men leaving, and not Ranger coming in. I never heard him come inside, he was silent as much as he was deadly.

In about ten seconds Ranger would be standing in front of me, and the fact that I was only in his tshirt and a pair of lacy panties that I usually saved for fancy occasions, but the only occasion tonight was that I desperately needed to do laundry.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled whenever he walked into the bedroom. He was dressed in his usual Rangeman attire, and looked tired.

"Ranger."  
He looked at me and was frowning. The room had been dark and he hadn't turned the light on whenever he came inside.

"Babe."

I knew that this was just going to lead to a silent stand-off. And that in itself pissed me off all over again. I started to give him a piece of my mind but I was interrupted.

"Why aren't you in bed? Its five in the morning."  
"I wasn't in bed because I couldn't sleep."  
We went back to the silent stand-off. A good minute passed before Ranger shoved off of the wall that he had been leaning against and walked towards the bathroom.

"So is that it?" I was basically spitting the words out at him.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'm coming to bed. I expect you to be in the bed when I get out."  
He shut the door behind him and I was left there standing with my jaw on the floor. Ranger seriously had some nerve to him.

I hated to be following any order he think he could give me, but truth be told I was tired as hell. I'd secretly been staying awake to wait for him to get home. But to have him come back like this was upsetting.

I crawled into the bed and waited for the sound of the shower to turn off. I didn't wait long.

I felt him lay down next to me, and before I could roll over to confront him he had his arm over me and pulled me back.

He was completely naked. And hard.

"Ranger…"  
He started to kiss my neck, and his hand started to reach under the t-shirt I was wearing. I tried to wriggle free but he just pulled me even harder against his chest. If he was trying to get me to forget how mad I was he was succeeding. All I could even notice was the heat building between us and that I couldn't sit still.

I rolled over and Ranger lifted me up on top of him. I sat up straight and looked down at him. He was gorgeous, and he was in my bed. He'd been in my bed more than once and my sheets had even begun to smell like him. The thought of the scent, and him, going away left a pain in my heart.

"Ranger, we are going to have to talk about everything sooner or later."  
He smiled and pushed a curly mess of hair behind my ear. The action seemed too sweet for someone so dark. But I knew that Ranger could be sweet, and loving. Even if it was in his own way.

"I know Babe, but later sounds better. Think of all the things we can do to use up the time between now and later."  
And with that he snaked his hand back under my shirt and gave my nipple a squeeze. I shivered and leaned back down to kiss him. I let out all of the pent up anger and frustration into his body and I knew that I would be sore the next day. But I didn't care. Ranger had even given me the same attention.

"Well I feel much better." Ranger said as he tickled my side and I moved in closer to him.

"Yea, me too. But you do know that sex isn't always the answer to every problem.

"I know, but I love seeing your face when I make you orgasm."  
I laughed but still punched him in the side. I was a little nervous for the conversation we needed to have.

"Ranger, we do need to talk."  
"I'm sorry."  
His sudden apology took me back. I expected him to fight me tooth and nail saying that he was right, because he was only trying to protect me.

"I should have come home whenever Morelli was here. I was so focused on getting him away and out of your life for good that I got more caught up with paperwork to get him transferred than consideration for you and the situation. I felt like the world stopped when Rico called me. And I made sure that Joe got what was coming to him."  
I was looking at him dumbfounded. "You were getting Morelli transferred? To where?"  
"Out of the state and away from you. He had his chance to make things work with you, and he isn't going to be anywhere near you or the baby. I knew that only way that would happen would be if I got him in a new division somewhere else. I spent that whole time getting paperwork together and smoothing things over so that he could be gone within a day. I should have known that things were everything but ok here. I've been so used to only focusing on the job, and not the emotions that its become basically the backbone of my life. But ever since I've met you, you've slowly been chipping away at it. I've been trying to adjust, but its just taking me longer than it should. And its not fair to you, but I am trying. And now that I know how badly I've been doing I'm going to try even harder. I don't expect your forgiveness. I don't even deserve it. But I really hope you'll give me another chance. To make this right, and to show you that you really do mean everything to me."  
By the time he finished I was crying. I'm not entirely sure if they were happy or sad tears. But I do know that I was completely head over heels in love with the man that was spilling his heart out to me.

It wasn't exactly a perfect outpouring. But Ranger was getting somewhere, and he was reaching down in places he had never been before with me to say it.

"So you consider this home?"  
Ranger gave a low laugh, then a deeper heartier one. Next thing I knew he was laughing so hard that he could hardly breathe. This was a miraculous sight.

"Ranger? Are you alright?" I touched his arm and he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

My whole body was shaking with his and soon I had a huge dopey smile on my face.

"Out of everything I just told you, you picked out one small detail?" He kept laughing.

"Babe, the answer is no. I don't consider this home."  
My heart sank and my smile turned into a frown.

"Because YOU are home. Wherever you choose to let me be with you is home enough."  
I looked up at him and was speechless.

"I should have made it a lot clearer. You are mine, and I am yours. You are carrying OUR child. I'm in this for the long run. I'm going to do this the right way, and not because I feel a duty to it, but because I love you."  
"Ranger-"  
"No, Steph. I love you. Completely. I love our child that you're carrying. I've loved you for a long time now. Your guts, your intuition, your independence, and your complete lack of coordination and grace. Its nice to be needed by you during those times. And I want to continue being needed by you. Because as much as you need me I need you."  
Wow, hold on a minute. Did Batman just say that he needed me?! Was the sky falling?! Was the end of the world near?  
"The world isn't going to end."  
Now it was my turn to laugh. And just like Ranger, I couldn't seem to laugh hard enough. This was the craziest night, and I couldn't get a grasp on it.

"Ranger?"  
"Yes Babe?"  
"Did you really mean everything you just said to me?"  
"More than anything."  
I threw my arms around him and started kissing his face all over.

He hugged me back and was laughing. I was completely lost in the moment until a thought kept tugging at the back of my mind.

When I could pull it forward enough to recognize it I went still.

"Ranger….Where is Daniels?"  
The atmosphere in the room changed. All the warmth was gone and had turned to cold. Ranger slipped back into Rangeman mode and looked at me darkly.

"We haven't gotten a lock on him yet. I have men out patrolling. But I will promise you something Steph. Absolutely no one, not even Daniels, is going to come between us again."  
I shuddered at the thought of Ranger "handling" Daniels, but knew whatever he was going to do would be for the best.

"Whatever you say Ranger."

He pulled me back under the sheets close to him again. I fell asleep on his shoulder and had nightmares of Daniels chasing me, but Ranger being nowhere close enough to save me, or the tiny dot.


	18. Chapter 18

It's been so long since I last updated! I'm so sorry for the delay. I don't own anything and please review to let me know what you think so maybe I can take the story line where you all would enjoy it better :) Thank you so much for following and reading!

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Spov

I had just walked out of the doctor's office and into the parking lot when I heard Rico sigh. It'd been a month and no sign of Daniels. My bump was bigger and Ranger had actually gotten Ella to order me some maternity clothes.

Thank God for that, because being in the maternity store was too much. I felt fat and new that limiting my tasty cake intake wasn't going to help me shed the pounds.

"Rico, what's going on? I hope you're not staying out too late, your wife is probably having stress all over the place enough for the both of you."  
Ranger had everyone out looking for Daniels. He'd even hired a whole new department within Rangeman for it. The guy sure wasn't kidding when he said he'd had a whole budget specially done for me.

"Trina is fine Mrs. Manoso."  
It may strike you as odd but Rico CAN talk. In FULL sentences! I was about to get Ranger to get me an interpreter if I'd had to deal with his nods and grunting's for much longer.

I'd found out Rico had a wife, and three kids, from Tank a couple weeks back and ordered him to take me to meet her. Maybe it's the hormones but I felt bad for his wife and wanted to be around another woman who could relate to me on an emotional level at the moment.

Mary Lou had gotten way too busy for me. Its nearly the holidays and all the schools are getting ready for the school plays and recitals to go along with it. She was carting crazy wild children back and forth on a level I hoped to never have to deal with.

"I told you to call me Steph. Mrs. Manoso is Ranger's mother."  
I always corrected Rico when he called me Mrs. Manoso, but secretly it sent an excited chill down my spine.

We were walking towards the Rangeman SUV when I heard my name.

I turned around and when I saw who it was I gave Rico an apologetic look.

"Hey Grandma Mazur!"  
She had pink in her hair and was wearing a leopard print track suit. I imagined that this was what Madonna was going to look like if she ever ran out of money to pay for facelifts.

"What a pip! I was just with the girls planning on going to the bakery when I saw you!"  
I smiled at her and she turned her attention to Rico.

"Hey big boy. What do you say you do me a favor and pretend to be my boy toy in front of my girlfriends. Sure would make them jealous and give them something juicy to tell at the salon. All you gotta do is plant one on me. Maybe give a little tongue. What do you think Steph? Does that sound sexy or trashy? I want to get a good rumor out."  
I laughed and Rico made a sound that resembled an animal being backed into a corner.

"Rico is married Grandma. Leave him alone or his wife will get real upset with him."  
She laughed and turned back to me. Rico looked relieved.

"Well lookie here Plum! You really are filling out quite well. Can't wait to meet my great grandchild. Never thought I would get one!"  
"Grandma, Valerie has three kids!"  
She looked at me like I was crazy.

"Yea, but one thinks she's a horse, the other has no sense of adventure, and the baby is probably going to end up just as lame. You've got fire in you! This child is going to be hell on wheels. I'm going to take it to all the best funeral showings!"

I shuddered for my unborn child. It was going to have to learn real quick how to handle crazy Grandma Mazur. Then I remembered what I had in my purse.

"Hey grandma, do you want to see the ultra sound pictures?"

Her eyes lit up like Christmas and I reached inside of the bag to grab them. I pulled them out and handed them over and she got a big smile on her face.

"When do you find out what its going to be?"  
"The doctor said just few more weeks and I can go back."  
"I sure wish I could bring these to your mother."  
All the joy I was feeling left. I hadn't talked to my mother in months. As far as she was concerned I was disowned. Little did she know me and Grandma still were on good terms, and me and my father met for lunch every Wednesday when his taxi routes weren't too busy.

I did feel somewhat guilty though. I always thought that if the day ever were to come when I did have a child my mother would be there.

"How about we go down the street to the copy place and I make copies for you to bring to her?"  
"Oh Stephanie, Helen would love that."  
I chose not to say anything and we took off to the copy shop with Rico following close behind.

"Say, where is that sexy bounty hunter at?"  
Grandma was infatuated with Ranger, and he sure didn't like that. I couldn't help but giggle.

"He's working. Busy days."  
"Well he better get unbusy. You're going to need his help with that baby!"  
It didn't take long before I had given her copies of the ultra sound photos and sent her on her way. Rico was waiting outside and I took the moment alone to go to the bathroom. It seemed like every other minute I had to pee.

Five minutes later I was outside and Rico was helping into the SUV. My baby bump was really starting to get in the way. And it was so unusual to me that I was still learning how to go about my day with it getting in the way or weighing me down. I rubbed my belly and started humming to the baby.

Rico had grown used to my weird humming. I couldn't sing to save my life. But I wanted the baby to hear something from me every day, instead of just my talking voice.

"Is Trina doing ok?"  
"She's great. Wanted me to bring you by to pick up a casserole she made. Something about morning sickness relief."  
Rico was blushing and I laughed.

"Well you should be the one relieved. You won't have to hear me throwing up as much if it works! Do you mind swinging by so we can go get it?"  
Rico smiled and nodded his head. Secretly I just liked to give him a little time back with his wife and kids. It was bad enough that he had to spend so much time watching my back.

Rpov

"Damn it Tank! I don't have time for all of this shit!"  
It'd been too long since Daniels had gone off the grid again. The man was a modern day Houdini.

"Just call in one of the men to go check on her. She's just trying to get some attention and I've nearly had it with her."  
"Yes, boss man."  
I was really starting to regret signing a contract job for Ms. Julia Roberts. If she could she would probably buy all the attention from all walks of life if she could. Good thing trust funds couldn't buy something like that.

I pulled out my phone and dialed security. My call was answered half way through the first ring.

"Yes sir."  
"Status update on Stephanie Plum."  
"Sir, Rico just called in that they left the doctor and are now headed to a residential home."  
The day I was having already had me in an annoyed mood. Frustrated I snapped out asking the security desk man the address.

"The address is 455 N. Oak St."  
Even though my day was causing me to have high blood pressure I found myself smiling. My Babe was taking Rico to go see his family. And I'm sure Trina would calm her down a bit about the pregnancy jitters she was having.

"Call me when they move out from that location."  
"Sir."

I hung up and looked out from behind my desk. I had paperwork that would take weeks to complete. And jobs that needed to be done. I'd been trying my best to come home early to Steph but for the next couple weeks I needed to play catch up.

The only answer was to have her come and stay here in the apartment at Rangeman. I might have to fight her tooth and nail to do it, but I also had other reasons for getting her out of her place. She needed to finally decide on a house that she wanted. There was no way in hell I was going to let her live in the death trap apartment of hers, especially after the baby was born.

Two hours later and I was still plowing through paperwork. I'd barely made a dent in all of it when my phone went off.

"Ranger."  
"Sir, you wanted to be notified whenever Rico left the premises with Ms. Plum?"

"I believe that's what I said. Don't get in the habit of making me repeat myself."  
I heard a swallow and let him take a breath before I got an answer.

"Well the thing is, the SUV left, but not with Ms. Plum in it. I tried Rico and he isn't answering. Then I called the residential land line and got the wife on the phone. She said that Ms. Plum is with her in the house but Rico took off after someone who was apparently being a peeping tom."  
My blood ran cold. Rico wouldn't take off on someone who wasn't a threat.

"Get the GPS link tracked into my device. I'm going to head out after him. What's the closest route that I can intersect?"

"Head east on 37th and hook a left on Brookdale Avenue."  
I threw the phone into my pocket and took off at a run to get to the fastest car I had in the garage. Within a minute I was in it and driving off towards 37th. Rico's GPS was showing him five minutes away, but with my driving I could cut it down to 2 ½ minutes.

I pulled out my cell and called Tank.

"Tank, get to Rico's house and make it happen now. Steph is there with Rico's wife."  
"What happened to Rico?"  
"He took off on someone who had been looking through a window apparently."  
"Alright, I'm heading out now."  
I hooked a quick left on Brookdale and saw Rico in the SUV. I signaled him to pull over when I saw that he wasn't in pursuit of anyone and was basically scanning the crowded streets.

He pulled over and got out looking disappointed.

"Rico what the fuck are you doing?"

"Sorry Sir. We were talking with Trina when Steph, um Ms. Plum, saw somebody peeking through a window of one of the bedrooms and trying to get inside. He took off before I could get him."  
"Who was it?"  
"Not sure, but he's gone now and Ms. Plum was the only one to see him."  
"Well then I guess we've got to go and talk to her about it."  
"Sir."  
"And Rico, next time you think its smart to take off and leave her unguarded you just remember who does hand to hand combat training on a whim."  
Rico turned red, but I didn't give a shit. He'd left my Babe by herself and I wasn't having it. Not when Daniels could be any damn where.

Spov

"Trina! I'm so sorry!"

Trina smiled at me with big brown eyes.

"It's fine! Rico is just a little stressed and stretched thin. He doesn't want to take any chances with you."  
"He's like that because of me. I'm sorry that it's like this. If I could change it I would."

"Hush, don't think that I don't realize what you're doing every time you two pop by for a surprise visit."  
I blushed.

"You are our friend, I don't mind this. Especially if I know that it's my Rico keeping you safe during the day. Besides, when you come over for visits he gets to see the kids, and they love having him here during the day."  
I smiled back at her and started to feel better. We'd been here for nearly three hours and I had seen a different side of Rico entirely. He'd been outside playing with his twin son and daughter. His teenage daughter had stayed inside, no doubt in the same emotional state I was in with hormones and all.

"Well how could I skip up on an opportunity of food and possible morning sickness relief?"  
We laughed and I cautiously looked out the window. Trina noticed and frowned at me.

"Honestly Stephanie, it's fine."  
I really hoped it would be fine. I had gotten into the habit of always looking over my shoulder whenever I was away from Ranger. I trusted Rico with my safety. But it was only Ranger that I trusted with my life, and he was the one I felt safest with.

Thinking of Ranger a thought struck me.

"Trina is it ok if I go and ask Samantha a question?"  
"Of course, she might yell at you, but go right ahead. She's in a teenage love phase right now and I'm not letting her have a boyfriend."  
I smiled knowing all too well that it wouldn't stop her from trying to have a boyfriend if she wanted one.

I knocked softly on the door at the end of the hallway.

"Sam? Is it ok if I come in?"  
"Go away!" I heard a sob and empathized with her.

"I just have one quick question."  
"What?!"  
"Was that your boyfriend who was trying to sneak in?"  
The door immediately swung open and I was pulled inside.

"SHUT UP! My mom will hear you!"  
"So it was?"  
"No, yes, well yea. He's not my boyfriend though. He wants to be but my mom won't let me so I told him no."  
I smiled at her and let her keep talking, knowing the story would come out.

"I didn't know that you and my dad were going to be here. Me and him were supposed to meet up and just talk in the back yard. But I told him not to come because of dad, but then he said he really wanted to see me and next thing I knew he was at my window. I panicked and tried to let him in but then I heard you yell for my dad and I sort of pushed him out the window."  
"Every man for himself huh?"  
"Oh my GOD! He's never going to speak to me again!"  
I laughed and hugged her while she cried.

"Samantha, yes he will. You're a gorgeous, nice, and fun girl. My bet is he'll talk to you first thing Monday morning in class and tell you how cool it was being on a real life chase to get away from some macho man trying to keep him away from you."

"Do you really think so?"  
"I know so. I had the same thing happen to me."  
"Really?"  
Her eyes were wide and I realized it was time to tread carefully.

"Yes, really. But I listened to my mom and never let him in the house without their permission, and I sure never dated him without my parents permission either."  
She giggled and turned to go and wash her face in the bathroom. Kids really weren't my forte but I found I was getting better at the whole communicating part.

I heard a sliding door and knew the twins were inside. Then I heard the little feet and giggling of a toddler and braced myself for impact.

"Aunt Stephie! Aunt Stephie!"  
They were covered in dirt and had snaggle teethed smiles.

"Whats wrong you guys?"  
"There is a man here for you!"  
I groaned knowing it was probably Ranger. He wouldn't have taken Rico leaving well. I didn't want Rico to get in trouble especially in front of his family.

"Alright well I guess we better go say hello then don't you think?"  
"Carry us! Carry us!"

I wanted to say no but they were always so excited.

"How about we hold hands instead? You two are covered in mud!"

They giggled together and each one grabbed one of my hands.

We were just about to round the corner when I heard Trina scream.

"Stephanie! My babies! Run!"  
I froze up, but only long enough to see icy blue eyes staring at me.

_Ted._

The twins started to scream and cry. Their mommy was being held down by a giant stranger. I grabbed them and pulled them up to me with all the strength I had and rushed down the hallway.

"SAM!"  
I yanked open the bathroom door and shoved the twins inside. Sam looked as frightened as I did.

"Get your brother and sister, shut and lock this door, climb through the window, and run to the neighbors. Call the cops."  
She looked frozen in fear.

"NOW!"

She nodded at me and took the twins by the hand. I turned around and heard the door shutting the clicking locked.

I rushed back to the living room praying that Trina was ok. I looked out and saw that she was still pinned to the ground under Ted's massive knee.

"Ted. Let her go."  
He looked at me and smiled.

"I found you." His smile belonged in one of the creepy haunted fun houses.

"Let her go Ted!"  
"Why. She hurt me first."  
Sure enough Ted had blood oozing down from one of his temples.

"Trina are you ok?"  
I looked down and she was starting to look blue.

"Ted! She can't breathe! Let her up!"  
I could tell Ted didn't really understand how to take orders from a woman. He looked lost.

I ran over to him and shoved as hard as I could. Trina wasn't going to die from suffocation because of me.

Ted toppled over and I heard Trina gasping.

I grabbed her arm and tried hard to pull her out and away from the steroid giant that probably could care less if he killed her.

"You have to come with me. Boss wants to see you now."  
"No. I'm staying here."  
Trina was still trying to breath and I gave her a push.

"Go get your kids Trina. They'll be next door."  
"Stephanie-"  
"Go Trina!"  
She shook her head and was wheezing.

Ted was smiling at us again.

"She hit me with a pot. Bitch. Boss said I could have fun with whoever I found with you, just as long as I didn't have fun with you."  
I felt sick to my stomach.

"Where is Daniels at Ted?"  
"He's far away."  
"Where is far away?"  
"I'm not telling you."  
I was looking around for anything I could use to hit him or at least hurt him long enough to run out of the front door.

"Trina. I need you to go get your kids. I'll be ok."  
"No Stephanie, no."  
I looked at her and begged with my eyes.

"I'm going to get out, but you have to go the other way, he won't follow you."  
I was whispering while Ted was signing to himself like a mad men.

"Steph-"

"Go now!" I shoved her and she yelped. She took off down the hallway to a bedroom.

Ted noticed the commotion and looked up at me smiling.

"I'm bleeding."  
I shook my head and started to circle towards the front door.

Ted saw me and got closer, forcing me to back myself against the wall by the patio sliding doors.

I was in no shape to hope fences and my window of opportunity was gone. He was pushing me out towards the back yard and pretty soon I'd be cornered.

"Ted, how about we talk."  
"No. Let's play."

He lunged towards me and I screamed falling backwards. I barely got my hand around the door frame to steady myself and yank myself out of the way. Ted fell face first onto the concrete and blood squirted out from beneath his head, no doubt from his nose.

I ran towards the side of the house trying to reach the side gate when I heard Ted swearing. He would be on me before I could even get out of the gate. I looked to the ground and picked up a shovel to protect myself.

Ted rounded the corner and I swung it like a baseball bat, completely missing his head but landing a good hit to his shoulder.

"BITCH!"

I backed away completely in shock that he hadn't gone down like a sack of potatoes. He lunged for me again and I fell down backwards landing hard on my back. I heard three loud pops and next thing I knew Ted was on top of me staring at me with a blank face.

"BABE!"

Ted was thrown off of me and a pair of strong arms hooked under mine and hauled me up. I couldn't form words but just looked up into a pair of eyes that were just as beautiful as they were frantic.

I saw Ranger's mouth moving but nothing was coming out. Then I realized that he was talking but all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.

"Rico! Get the SUV we're going to the hospital!"  
_Hospital? No!_

"NO!"

Ranger looked at me shocked.

"You're hurt!"  
"IT'S NOT MY BLOOD!"  
"Why are you yelling?"  
The ringing in my ears got louder and I shoved him away from me to roll over and puke.


	19. Chapter 19

This chapter is pretty short compared to my others but it's only because I want it to lead up to the next chapter and leave me lots of room to write through! I don't own anything! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

* * *

Rpov

All the commotion had died down and I'd finally been able to get Steph to agree to go and get an ultra sound to check if the baby was ok. I knew when we got in there I'd be ordering the doctors to check her out as well.

She'd thrown up and looked pale as a ghost. The absolute terror that had seized me after I'd pulled the trigger on the asshole scared me. The blood I saw on her scared me even more. I had never known that this fear was possible. But I knew it was because I was scared that I had been too late, and that Ted had done damage to my Babe or our child.

Steph was looking out the window of the SUV not saying a word. She had her hand placed on her baby bump and was absentmindedly rubbing it.

"Babe?"  
She looked over at me and her eyes gave her away. She had been trying to sit and seem at ease, blankly staring out of the window, but in her eyes I saw how terrified she was, and I'm pretty sure she felt guilty, even though it wasn't her fault.

"We're almost to the hospital and I've already called ahead. They have a room set up and waiting for us."  
"Ok, Ranger."

She went back to staring out of the window and I had no idea what to do. This wasn't exactly my forte.

"I think you might be mad at me."  
I looked at her in shock. After everything that happened how could I be angry towards her?  
"I'm bleeding on your leather seats. I think I need stitches."  
"What?! I thought you said the blood wasn't yours?!"  
"I knew you'd be angry." She admitted defeat so easily, not at all like the Bomber everyone knew her to be.

"I'm not mad for the reason of blood getting on the seat. I'm mad because you're hurt and I thought you had said the blood wasn't yours. I checked you out before we left. What happened?"  
"There is a cut on my back, I didn't want to say anything because I don't want stitches."

"Well stitches is what you're going to get from keeping this from me."  
She just nodded and started looking back out the window.

"Babe…I'm not mad. That came out harsher than I meant for it too. I'm just worried."  
"Ok, Ranger."  
And with that we spent the rest of the ride and the time in the hospital in silence. The only time my Babe showed any emotion was when they started putting the stitches in her and I could see her anxiety. I went to hold her hand but she denied it.

The ultrasounds came back showing the baby was healthy and growing, and Steph was checked out to go home to recover. The doctor gave me instructions on how to put on a clean gauze pad and we were on our way.

"Steph, I sent some men to check your apartment while we were at the hospital. The place is trashed. We're staying at my apartment tonight."  
"Ok, Ranger."

With this I grew even more worried. She hated not being able to have a choice. I looked over and my heart actually went out for the mess that she was at the moment. But she was MY mess, and I wasn't going to let her feel this way.

"Babe?"  
"What?"  
"This wasn't your fault."  
With one sentence I broke her. Tears started coming out of her eyes and her body started shaking with sobs she was trying to hold in. I pulled over on the road and unbuckled her seat belt, pulling her onto my lap.

"Babe, it's really not your fault. Don't cry."  
She was making gurgling sounds that may have been words, but she was too caught up in her undeserved guilt.

I held her there like that for thirty minutes and thought of how much she'd been through since Texas. And it was all due to me. If anyone was to blame it would be all on me.

"I never should have taken you with me to Texas."  
I heard a hiccup and proceeded on.

"If I hadn't then we wouldn't be in this mess and you'd be fine right now. This whole mess never would have happened and we'd each be free of it all."  
I felt Steph straighten at my words and smiled. She was finally seeing that she wasn't to blame and that it was going to be ok.

Spov

_Free of it all…._

He wanted to be free of it all. He wished he hadn't of taken me to Texas. Then that way I wouldn't be pregnant and he wouldn't be stuck with me and my "mess".

"Ranger?"

"Yes?"  
"Can you please let me go now? I feel better."  
He helped me back in my seat and pulled out to take us to Rangeman like he didn't have a care in the world. I spent the rest of the drive with all the cares in the world and couldn't stop thinking about it all.

I was the reason Trina and her family suffered today, and now I'd finally made Ranger realize how much he didn't want this with me.

Call it pregnancy emotions but it all hurt so damn bad. More than when Morelli confirmed he'd been sleeping around on me.

But if Ranger was going to finally confess everything to me and act like it was no big deal I'd be damned if I'd act any different. Lucky enough for him I'd be on my own way tonight after I got a change of clothes. I'd go and stay with my Grandma Mazur in her little apartment that the nurses check on until I got on my feet again and got my own apartment fixed.

We were in Ranger's apartment before I knew it and Ranger seemed like he couldn't wait to get out of it.

"I've got paperwork to do and I'm going to check on my contacts with skips and Daniels. Don't wait up for me alright?"  
"Alright."

He raised a brow at me and then delivered the final blow.

"You're not to leave this apartment do you understand me?"  
I didn't even give him the honor of an argument. I'd be damned if I was forced to stay where I wasn't wanted. I turned around and headed for the shower and clean clothes.

Once I was out I looked for pen and paper to leave a note. If he wanted to walk out and stay out late then its his problem if he didn't stick around long enough to hear my reasons for leaving.

I grabbed the pen and started to jot down everything that I'd been holding in since he'd said he shouldn't had taken me to Texas with him.

In fifteen minutes I was ready with a few changes of clothes and out the door. If I was right it was security switch time and I'd have five minutes to get out the door and fifteen before the checked over the tapes. Ranger might be pissed but I couldn't stay here anymore.

And now with Ted dead and the Rangeman taking care of body clean-up/cover-up, whatever they wanted to call it, I'd have enough of a clear area to get to the bus stop down the road.

And with Ted dead then Daniels had no way of knowing where I am.

Except I was dead wrong about that, because when I hopped off the bus I felt a rough hand pull me to an alley and when that hand went over my mouth and throat I knew too late who it was.

"Well hey there sweet thang. Did you miss daddy? From the looks of it you're making somebody a daddy."

I felt a prick in the side of my neck before everything started swirling together and going dark, the last thing I heard being a dark chuckle, and my thoughts were on tiny dot.

Rpov

I threw the note on the ground and punched my fist to the wall. It successfully made a hole and I cursed at everything in the damn apartment. Myself included. I should have watched my words better and checked on her more before I left.

I should have known that her different attitude was her being rebellious and she was up to something. She'd gone from distraught and guilty feeling, to quiet and panther like. I picked up the note to read it one last time before ordering a man search out to find her.

_R,_

_I'm sorry that I've been such a burden on you and your staff, as well as financially on your company. If I had realized all of THIS would have come from taking a trip to Texas I am pretty sure I wouldn't have wanted me to go either. But you really nailed it in when you spoke of the "MESS" we were in. I decided to go ahead and "FREE" you from it. Since apparently your Batman duties and morals were keeping you from doing it yourself. I don't want you around right now, and I'd appreciate if you didn't send any of your henchmen after me. I'll be staying with my grandmother until my apartment is fixed. When I cool off we'll talk about the baby and how that situation will work out for you._

_S._


End file.
